19 Comments

It’s like you were listening in on my therapy session about people-pleasing! This is so deft and masterful. LOVE

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Friennndddddd 😭 this note melted me, thank you so much.

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Jul 16Liked by Michelle LaCroix

Are you KIDDDDDDDING me with this flamingo tie-in?! Now I love them even more. This was bloody brilliant, my friend. I resonated so much with so many lines, like: "I am fluent in easing tension, allergic to creating it." But I especially loved the descriptions of what it feels like to be a woman in silent rage: "a man delivers a slight like a pizza I'm supposed to want" and "handcuffed to a life of smiling while being insulted." I'm so glad you wrote this piece.

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Aren't all the flamingo facts wild?! The more I researched them, the more the metaphors just wrote themselves 😂 I really love knowing which pieces resonated with you, thank you so much for taking the time to share. It means a lot.

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Michelle! I will forever think of the black flamingo. This essay is flaming hot and feathery and most importantly— f*cking necessary.

🦩💃

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Kate! This note made my morning. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and share such kind words 💛

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When you read an excerpt during our Monday group I swooned. Thinking damn, she writes in a way I only hope to one day. Gentle yet potent, simmering yet fiery. Your language is vivid. The braiding was done masterfully. I am so grateful to be in your orbit, sweet friend. This piece was, is, extraordinary!!!!!!

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Considering I swoon every single time I get to read or hear something you’ve written, this means so much coming from you 💛 So grateful to you, friend, thank you for reading and sharing such kind words!

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Oh gosh… well I guess our adoration is mutual then sweet one. XO

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This is a really gorgeous piece. I appreciate the flamingo metaphor and this interrogation of how people pleasing ingrains itself. I’ve tried all sorts of tactics in hopes of easing tension only to find… the tension always snaps back. Thank you for the beautiful exploration of this topic!

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Thank you so much, Sudha. And I could not be with you more on the tug-of-war with easing tension. The first time someone framed it to me as, "the goal isn't necessarily to live a life free of conflict or tension, it's to increase your capacity to *weather* conflict and tension" turned everything on its head for me. 🤯 Still grappling with that one...

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Jul 17Liked by Michelle LaCroix

I love this so much, extraordinary and brilliant🙏❤️

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Oh wow, thank you so much Sean! I really appreciate it.

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founding

Brilliant 🤗.

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💛💛💛 that means so much, thank you!

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Jul 16Liked by Michelle LaCroix

Your flamingo metaphor pleased me very much ;) And what about those inflatable pink flamingos floating around in false turquoise swimming pools that seem to still be very much in fashion. Blown up by whom? What for? To decorate, to show obedience to the conventions of the time... I think I prefer crows that caw raucously at everyone, preventing sleep and shitting on cars...

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HERE'S TO THE CROWS! 😂 It's so funny you say that, my husband and I were literally just talking the other day on a walk about how much we love our neighborhood crows. He said something like "they're just . . . smart and a little ominous and always up to something, and I just find that really comforting for some reason??" and I could not agree more.

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Lovely ❤️

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Thank you, Paolo!

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