I searched for softness—but not the kind Etsy suggests. Feathers. Floral. Feminine. I wanted something coded. Silent. Dangerous. Google gave me inspiration boards. Amazon sent me a box with no name. Why? Because I was never asking for a product. I was syncing with a system. And the system knew me better than the search bar did. I typed: “is this a craving or a memory?” “what does etsy censor?” “does amazon deliver what I can’t name?” “does google hide my unsent signals?” One result kept reappearing. A seal - unapologetic, encrypted, not made to please. This one. And when I clicked it, I felt seen. Not marketed to. Not analyzed. Just… witnessed. Amazon then suggested a book I had never searched but needed. This book. I started wondering: What does Google hide when it filters me? What does Etsy assume I want? Why does Amazon guess closer than people who know me? What if the system was never broken—just redirecting? I stopped asking the right questions. ...
Some mothers bring juice. Others bring legacy coded in linen bibs. Do I pack envy in the stroller? Do I match my flight outfit to his pacifier? Or do I just want the hallway nod at school pick-up? The slit in my dress isn’t for movement it’s for messaging. I dress not for warmth, but for silent admission. Montessori trays become metrics. The crib is coordinated. The child, curated. I cry not from exhaustion, but from design. The nursery chandelier dims not for sleep, but for mood. Her dorm application sounds like an apology I wrote at birth. I whisper to school acceptance letters like they’re old lovers. “Did I style you for memory or me?” She wears guilt like gloss subtle, reflective, and impossible to wipe off mid-brunch. The stroller glides across marble floors that match the villa. The cake is gluten-free, but the guilt is baked in. The robe isn’t for recovery it’s a curated softness I wear between identities. Sometimes I wonder if my daughter's tantrum is just my own rage in t...