The Thing With Feathers

The Thing With Feathers

Share this post

The Thing With Feathers
The Thing With Feathers
What is your golden calf?

What is your golden calf?

Mary Ellen Barrett's avatar
Mary Ellen Barrett
Jan 04, 2024
∙ Paid
2

Share this post

The Thing With Feathers
The Thing With Feathers
What is your golden calf?
Share

Happy New Year my friends. I hope yours was a good one and that you are still enjoying Christmastide.

I can tell I had a good time because even though I spent quite a bit of time on the treadmill my pants are still tighter than they were three weeks ago, so there is that.

I share such things for those in the same boat, you can know you are not alone and for those with loose pants, you can feel good about your self-discipline. A little service I provide with your subscription here, no matter what - you are likely doing better than I am at most things.

I am doing a few of the typical January things (not dry January, don’t let’s get crazy) in terms of decluttering and resetting, and toward that end I was goofing around on YouTube looking for some motivation, as one does, and a video was recommended.

I don’t know why I clicked because there is no reason why I should have been recommended for this video. It was a family court judge who was deciding on child support that a mother who had abandoned her five children to pursue a career as an Instagram influencer, should be paying. I was a little shocked by this because you often hear of deadbeat dads but rarely of moms pulling this kind of stunt. The poor husband had manned up, getting a second job to afford all the things the kids needed and to keep them in their family home. The mom was ordered to pay a significant amount of money in support and was incensed that this judge, a female, was impinging on her freedom to do as she pleased with her own life. Because heaven forbid she should put her husband and children ahead of her desire to be famous on the internet.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to The Thing With Feathers to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Mary Ellen Barrett
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share