Motherhood
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Delight in Disorder + Other Thoughts on Transition.

By: Jen Shoop

This feels like one of those moments in the parenting year where I think: It’s going to get worse before it gets better. By this I mean we have three half-days scattered over the next week, before the children are out for summer, and they are already wound up on end-of-year sugar and festivities, and processing all the change, and acting out of sorts. We’ve had tempers; we’ve had meltdowns. We’ve ridden the pendulum from “I don’t wanna go to school!” to “I’m going to miss my friends!” — this, after months of more or less uncomplaining school attendance, concentrated down to one week that inelegantly carabiners the routine of school to the openness of summer.

I am focused on my daughter in particular: she will be matriculating to a new school in the fall, and I can see already the dawning strain of this transition for her. She also wept — wept! — the last day of school last year, and that was without a school switch ahead.

So: buckle up, Mama. Today I am reminding myself that mothers undergo tremendous transformation ever single day.  We shapeshift into the oak-tree of a firm “no,” the eiderdown of a soft landing, the morning rays that gently coax, the quiet night that holds the peace. I can meet this transition, and whatever it asks of me, too.

In the midst of this moment, a poem to give us spirit:

DELIGHT IN DISORDER POEM by robert herrick

Delight in Disorder

by Robert Herrick

A sweet disorder in the dress

Kindles in clothes a wantonness;

A lawn about the shoulders thrown

Into a fine distraction;

An erring lace, which here and there

Enthrals the crimson stomacher;

A cuff neglectful, and thereby

Ribands to flow confusedly;

A winning wave, deserving note,

In the tempestuous petticoat;

A careless shoe-string, in whose tie

I see a wild civility:

Do more bewitch me, than when art

Is too precise in every part.

****

I love the far-flung “a lawn about the shoulders.” It’s a perfect mimesis. How could a lawn be misplaced on the shoulder? It feels careless, unexpected, wrong-footed, but also perfect in its drawing together of two disparate “bodies”: the ground, the shoulder. It brought to mind some of my undeveloped musings on writing: “I want to always make room for the unexpected. May I not be drawn to tame the weirdness out. Sometimes I weedwack my way through a dense spinney of words with the red pen only to realize that the coppice version is less appealing to the nest-building mind. Not everything is best pared back. The imagination thrives in shadowlands, or at least in spaces with many branches from which to fly.”

****

Leonard Cohen put this sentiment to paper well, too: “Ring the bells that still can ring / Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack, a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in.” I wrote about this here, after a perfectly imperfect Thanksgiving.

****

Onward into the imperfect now!

Shopping Break.

+Sezane’s capsule collection with Spanish brand Andion launched last weekend and items flew! I wish I’d gotten to the sale earlier but somehow missed it in my normal shop-hunting flow. Still available and absolutely fab: these embroidered shorts (imagine over a swimsuit like this, finished with jellies), these embroidered trousers, this rose print blouse. Not part of the collab but I also LOVE this blue and white patterned bag — reminds me of Delft tile.

+This $102 skirt looks like it belongs to the Sezane x Andion collection.

+Love the border on this rug.

+More fun, on-trend roping necklaces here and here. (15% off with JEN15)

+Big skincare addition the past few weeks: I apply niacinamide after my vitamin c. (Order: vitamin c >> niacinamide >> serum >> moisturizer >> spf). I truly love Glow Recipe’s best-selling formula. The drops blend in easily and boast a juicy, fresh watermelon scent that sparks joy for me. (They also have a tinted version if you want to combine skincare/beauty steps, and a bunch of value sets that incorporate these best-selling drops with their other products at a discount.) I’ve been using this since I ran out of these niacinamide-soaked pads, which I also loved. I find vitamin c followed by niacinamide gives me the greatest glow and elasticity and serves as a perfect base layer for the day.

+Two summer pants that are right up my alley — sort of utilitarian-style, a bit of slouch/barrel to them: these “gardener” jeans from Everlane, and La Ligne’s new Dorian pant. I live in pants like these while working at my desk!

+Loving these crochet-inspired half-zips from Varley — a perfect “step up” from a tee-shirt, but can be worn with loungewear shorts. Chic chic! For inspo, love the way this chic pea is styling their shorts/half-zip with daytime flats and a leather wristwatch. Break all the rules!

varley ollie shorts

+OK, my Eby relief bra arrived and I love her. It came with a card enclosed that said something like 71% of women find their underwire bras uncomfortable, and yet…we wear them daily. Ack! The relief bra is such a fab alternative. Dreamy comfortable, no hard wires, and yet supportive and doesn’t make you look like you have a mono-boob. Strong rec; love. Have been wearing around the clock since I received. I really like this new lavender color.

+Instant desk upgrade. Why do I always misplace / find myself in search of scissors?!

+Two great additions/updates to my Father’s Day gift roundup: first, Materiel saw I raved about their steak knives and offered us 20% off with code JEN20 (trust, these are amazing); and I was really inspired when I saw Framebridge sharing thoughts on framing special objects for your dad. I immediately thought of framing my husband’s lucky rabbit’s foot (once his Dad’s), the license plate from my husband’s beloved Jeep, or some of my Dad’s prized (hand tied) dry flies. I also absolutely loved the photo below, captioned: “The Red Car Era.” OMG! I thought of phases of my husband’s life and how sweet it would be to caption special photos of them in a similar way. Almost like gallerist notes? Like, “Party Girl Days” (the black Jeep he had in college was named “party girl”). I love that you can add an engraved brass plate to accomplish this. Inspo below! You can get started here.

framebridge fathers day
framed swiss army knife
framed fishing license

+For your summer farmer’s marketing. Such fun and playful prints!

+OMG, this terry and fringe dress.

+And a season-appropriate phone wristlet, too.

+Two Mango finds I’m loving: this skirt and this crochet jacket.

+Spectacular summer scarf.

+Ohhh this Bottega bag!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation.

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Brittney
Brittney
20 days ago

“…mothers undergo tremendous transformation ever single day. We shapeshift into the oak-tree of a firm “no,” the eiderdown of a soft landing, the morning rays that gently coax, the quiet night that holds the peace. I can meet this transition, and whatever it asks of me, too.”

Wow! Oh I love this so much. Reading this made me exhale and feel gratitude. The chaos has felt overwhelming, but this grounded me. Thank you!

EMM
EMM
21 days ago

One more corded necklace – I jumped on the trend with this one and added a letter charm to the (lavender, in my case) heart on the cord. So fun!

https://roxanneassoulin.com/products/the-cord-charm-necklace-in-blue?variant=41992406597698

EMM
EMM
20 days ago
Reply to  Jen Shoop

You absolutely do (!).

Anne
Anne
21 days ago

My husband and I keep our house clean, but the one place we leave space for chaos and ongoing creativity is our basement. We have a card table out where I leave my ongoing sewing projects and crafts out. Visual clutter normally bothers me, but in a creative light, I find myself delighted by it.

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