As you might already know, “inventure” is my word for a way of living that puts nature before culture. It’s all about living in a way that feels right to you, even if it looks weird to others: our extended families, our friend groups, our ethnic communities. You name it, there’s a culture trying to force conformity on us. And we can’t blame them. Consensus has its uses.
But if you long for a different kind of life, one that feels true and right all the way down to your marrow, it might be time for you to go on an inventure.
Parenting is a huge inventure for me right now.
I’m writing this in August, 2021, and my daughter Lila is eleven months old today. I’m coming to parenting later than most—Lila was born just after I turned 40—and so I’m fresh to the overwhelming pressures around doing this raise-a-human thing right.
Less than a year in and I’m trying to think of any aspect of having a new baby that isn’t rife with argument and politics. I’m not succeeding!
So as I try to walk my own talk, and venture forth into the world of parenting, I’m going to write about it here. There are so many aspects of having a little one right now that are ripe for wild inventures:
- Education
- Food and feeding choices
- Socialization
- Discipline
- Family size and structure
- Kids on social media
- Screens…
The list goes on and on. So if you’d like to watch me feel my way through these thorny issues right alongside Lila’s other parents and Lila herself, please keep an eye out for posts categorized “parenting inventures” (or click on the parenting box on my homepage).
This article originally appeared on Rowan’s Wild Inventures substack newsletter. To subscribe and get all Rowan’s posts in your inbox, head over to Wild Inventures on substack now.
