Over drinks at The Sunken Harbor Club last week, Mr. Magpie commented that his grandmother had owned the exact water glasses we were drinking out of. I could see the echo startled and then pleased him, and it touched me —
the way our lives become mosaics of the people we love.
The way Elizabeth is in my playlists, and my grandmother is in every caesar salad I order, and my dedication to running is nothing more than an extension of my Dad’s own commitment to the practice. Every time I walk onto our back patio, I see my brother, sitting in the corner wicker chair, laughing as he did last summer, and I carry him with me as I whisk my children into the car to get to school on time, and for a split-second I think about what he would do if he were me: probably, slow down. Probably, be gentler on people. He lives halfway around the world, in Norway, and yet he is here with me, the corner piece in today’s tapestry. I encounter my sisters no less than four hundreds times a day in the most mundane of everyday rendezvous: hair dryers, green peas, the fancy soap in our powder room, the trilling aria of “La Boheme,” the word ‘docent.’ They stitch themselves right into my world. The ripened mangos on our counter draw to mind my father-in-law, and the nest in the tree on the way out the back steps to the garage holds my sister-in-law, and my mother is threaded through absolutely everything I do: the impulse to buy peonies; the pressing of my cool palm to a forehead; the clink of ice in a tall glass; the way she cuts sandwiches and folds her sunglasses into their cases.
“These fragments I have shored against my ruins,” wrote Eliot, and his words come to mind now:
These are the people who hold me together.
Post-Scripts.
+More on honoring the people who make us who we are.
+My friend Elizabeth still appears to me in the most startling ways.
+We carry everything inside: the ages of our children, the people we have lost.
+I don’t want anything to change.
Shopping Break.
+Just saw that Margaux is offering 20% off sitewide. I have long been eyeing these gorgeous ballet flats, which come in such fabulous seasonal colors, as an alternative to my Chanels. I hear such good things! I love that they offer extended sizing.
+Cool girl jeans, selling fast. I love the color and fit!
+A great everyday striped top. Love.
+These woven slides remind me of Bottega.
+Tube tops are back?! As long as low-rise jeans stay away from me, I’m cool with it.
+OMG! We’ve entered loose tooth territory in the Magpie home! We are waiting for a very wiggly bottom tooth to come out. My MIL bought my daughter this beyond darling tooth fairy set from Maileg for the occasion. You can keep the teeth in the tin, but the little mouse has a backpack that might be perfect for leaving the tooth fairy’s cash. I’ve written a lot about Maileg but they are some of our most treasured toys. Mini received this sweet set when she was born (!) and I’ve been collecting since. Great collectible gift — but functional, too! I love to give these as gifts to little ones we know. We even have the playhouse, which mini received from Santa two years ago. It is SO adorable.
+I ended up returning the sunglasses in question here — I agreed with you Magpies who said they were just too big for my tiny face. I am now eyeing these from Loewe. Love the shape and hardware. Very Jackie.
+Super chic bedside table for around $200.
+These interactive books are a really great gift for little hands.
+These funky-shaped candles would be such a fun centerpiece or gift.
+OK, these Old Navy mary janes for little girls are SERIOUSLY adorable. Like little Vibi Venezias, but under $20 at the moment.
+Michelle Wilhite’s new spring offerings are beyond chic. I love this tapestry-like one in a gorgeous floral.
+I just bought my children a sticker subscription at Pipsticks! My children LOVE stickers and I know this will be an exciting monthly delivery for them. Cute idea!
+OMG. This Lela Rose dress is MAJOR. All of their designs are $$ but so, so good.
+Cheerful personalized iPhone case.
+My boy would flip over this tiger bathmat.