He was 248,655 miles from Earth, the furthest distance ever traveled by human,
and she had passed away six years ago,
and still, she was on the tip of his tongue.
And still, and of course, and for no reason you can’t imagine,
he gave her name to space, to a bright spot on the moon,
pinning his heart right into the sky:
C-A-R-R-O-L-L.
Seven characters of love and moondust and every magical thing between.
I can’t tell you the wild hope this gives me,
the way we search for the deceased in the faces of flowers and asterisms,
the great distances we go to honor the departed,
the seeking stelliscript of the heart.
What I mean is: even when doing the hard, the demanding, the nearly impossible,
we’re really spelling out the letters
in the names of the people we love.
It is all
apostrophe
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This week, the crew of the Artemis II — NASA’s first manned lunar flyby in over 50 years — made history by reaching 248,655 miles from Earth, the farthest distance ever traveled by humans. They are scheduled to return to Earth tomorrow night. While in space, the crew named a crater on the moon after the late wife of one of its astronauts: Caroll, once a mother and pediatric nurse, and now a bright spot in the sky. The video is profoundly moving.
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More adjacent reading: “The Moon and Her Mother” and “Regolith.”
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A little exciting news: Lit Society has opened up access to my List Poetry workshop on an a la carte basis here. Alternately, you can sign up for a membership to LitSociety and participate in this and dozens of other events and conversations. (Use code JEN_LS for $5 off the subscription.) I’ve mentioned this a few times but I am having a complete blast putting this together.
You can see all my upcoming events here!
Shopping Break.
+This rose-motif scarf is calling my name. I’m so into scarves and kerchiefs right now! Also love this one with painted shells.
+The BEST, most elite lounge pants, now available in a gorgeous hydrangea blue.
+J. Crew just released these fab carpenter poplin pants that are a great look-for-less option for the Leset Kyotos I’ve been raving about.
+Our favorite statement top in fresh white eyelet. (I own and love in the stripe!). If you’re looking for something with more color/pattern, try this just-dropped gorgeous spring top!
+Love this pattern from Hill House’s latest collection! Also available in a pretty top/skirt combo. And just a reminder not to overlook their swim — the material and cuts are SO GOOD. I especially love this silhouette.
+Jane Win just restocked its beloved “love” coin pendant. Such a beautiful mother’s day gift. As you know, I have a few of her coins and pendants and I wear them almost daily. These make such special gifts for sisters, girlfriends going through tough times, mothers, lighthouse friends, etc.
+Skincare I can’t stop speaking in exclamation points about: this tinted undereye cream, this lemon toning spray, this rich night cream (you wake up with the softest, happiest skin). All three are elite elite elite.
+OMG the pattern on this robe!
+Fun spring doormat on super sale. This one is also super charming!
+We bought one of these teak garden benches for the approach to our doorway a few years ago and decided to buy a second — we’re so often sitting out front, and our kids are always jockeying for a seat. They love to have their afternoon snacks there.
+Took a brief hiatus from using this LED therapy mask and really noticed a difference. I love the ritual of putting this on after exercise, after shower, and sometimes I sit and listen to a meditation and other times I give myself the time to just scroll and heart on Instagram. Reminder you can get 10% off with code JEN10.
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so beautifully true: “can’t tell you the wild hope this gives me, the way we search for the deceased in the faces of flowers and asterisms, the great distances we go to honor the departed, the seeking stelliscript of the heart”
exactly how I feel about my deceased son..every single day.
Oh Jenn – I’m so sorry for your loss. Thanks for letting me know the words resonated.
xx
Just signed up for your workshop! Looking forward to it!
Yay!!!
I took a hiatus too from the red light mask. Sounds silly, but the 10 minutes of wearing it feel daunting. My eye cups don’t stay on, which drives me bananas. Though it does make a difference when I do use regularly so thanks for the prompt to get back in routine with it.
Right? I was just having the same conversation with myself: “surely I can spare 10 mins!”
xx