On Thursday, Landon took our daughter to the driving range and I took my son on a morning “nature walk,” a euphemism that implies brevity and wildlife versus the hot and buggy reality of traipsing Cabin John Trail. In truth, my boy no longer needs the genteelism. He is at home in the woods: inquisitive, conversational, with hawk-like eyes that notice everything, even majesties I have trained myself to look for in this chapter of my life — but still miss.
This is part of the true wonder of childhood, this deep noticing. And it is one of the key reflected delights of parenthood, in the sense that your children remind you to unhook from the staccato pace and perfunctory language of the day in order to bend down and look at things. The delicate handiwork of the spiderweb, the grubby dandelions persevering in the crevice between sidewalk pavers. There is nothing too small for a child’s notice. (Any mother who has been called out for a stray hair on her chin by her perspicacious child — which is to say, most of us — is nodding her head at this.) They give you this fantastic alt perspective, sometimes simply by virtue of being closer to the earth, and smaller than many objects around them. They are excited by the mundane: the cardinal, the deer and its fawn, the earth worm s-curving as it panics its way back into the querencia of soil. And kids enjoy getting muddy, a truth that will occasionally leave you opening and closing your mouth like a guppy as you reflexively reach for “don’t step in that puddle!” and then correct yourself with: you know what, bud, you’re right; who cares? It’s just a little dirt.
On this excursion, we were determined to add a lifer bird to our shared registry, but of course that never happens when you set out for it. I knew this even as I announced the goal, even as I realized I didn’t need to invent a reason for our walk. The “dog day” cicadas were so loud that they drowned out nearly all birdsong anyway until we picked our way to the bank of a creek, and heard Eastern wood pewees calling to one another from the tree canopy. I was delighted by this, but Hill shrugged: “I’ve gotten those on Merlin before, and it doesn’t count if you don’t see them.” I was in turn delighted by his comment, by the small rules he’d set for us, by his comfort in this shared pursuit. I smirked privately, when he couldn’t see my face. I thought, too, I think I’m in one of those golden moments. You know the kind, where you share in something so simple and perfect that you just know it’s going to be a touchstone memory for the rest of your life? In this case, my boy and me amidst bark and heartwood, talking birds.
Mainly, we looked at lots of mushrooms — something I know very little about, but which has sparked his interest after he and his aunt spent an afternoon flipping through a mushroom encyclopedia left behind by the owners of the Norwegian hytte we’d rented. He asked me to photograph several, speculating on their poison level and inventing funny names for them: “the step mushroom,” “the pie mushroom,” and then instructing me as to which ones I should send to his aunt. When we got back to our car, we drove straight to the library and checked out every book they had on mushrooms. The librarian wrote down the titles and Dewey decimal numbers by hand in pencil on a little scrap of paper, and we sought them out on the shelves, another game of seeking. After, we ate mediocre pastries from a nearby bakery, and his joy at the “cimnon” (he still has trouble saying “cinnamon”) in the middle gave me that deep feeling of wellbeing all over again.
Magpies, it’s so often the same thing, what comes out on the page when I sit down to it: it’s the small, nearly-nothing, blink-and-you’ll miss-them commas of connection that make life meaningful. Because that’s what this morning intended to be: a comma. A short pause connecting other parts of the day — work, the arrival of our sitter to take them to the pool. And I mean, nothing even happened on our outing. We saw no birds, we pointed at mushrooms we knew nothing about. And yet. The way my heart felt like it was swimming. My complete ease in my body. The thick and still August morning. That deeply-good feeling of smallness in the presence of trees. And my son, in his beautiful postures of inquisitiveness and droll comedy and little-boy-ish-ness (c.f., the ten slow minutes of our walk during which he “couldn’t stand on the ground” and had to leap from rock to rock instead). Perfect punctation, all of it.
Special Dedication for This Post.
Writing this post thinking of the Magpie who lost her son a few years ago and wrote to tell me that after his passing, she had discovered hundreds of photos he had taken on his iPad, many of (in her words) “everyday things he found beautiful — light/shadow, flowers, a bumblebee, our dog.” She went on to write: “Looking closely is what our children do best. It doesn’t require patience or practice for them; they innately know how to do it. To see things through their wondrous eyes and love things with their entire hearts.” I think of this Magpie and her sweet son often when I am doing something like the nature walk with my own son. I wrote more about this here, but my heart is forever changed and expanded by her sharing her story.
In this light, I also wanted to share The Kindred Heard Foundation, a non-profit that another Magpie founded in memory of her son, who passed away from a congenital heart disease at the age of 11. The foundation coordinates retreats for bereaved families. Sharing here in case helpful to anyone or in case there are Magpies interested in supporting her work.
Sunday Shopping.
In whiplash form, moving from wiping tears from eyes onto the frivolous by sharing some shopping finds this Sunday.
I really am taking this track pant trend to the next level, because my set from our hike is Splits59 (top, leggings), and you can’t see it from this angle, but the leggings have track stripes down the side! (You can get a better look here.). I paired with the Salomon sneaks!
More great pre-fall into true-fall finds I’m eyeing and buying below —
THE GREAT BEAR CARDIGAN // FRAME JEANS (LOOK FOR LESS HERE) // PRADA TOTE // POLO FLEECE // LAKE PAJAMAS THERMO-REGULATING PAJAMAS // VERONICA BEARD BLOUSE // APL SNEAKERS // DR. DIAMOND LIPLIFT // MUSHROOM TRAY
+Ordered these thermo-regulating transition-to-fall pajamas. I think they’re chic enough to layer beneath a fleece (<<this one is at the top of my wishlist) for drop-off.
+Added this to my Weekend Drafts post yesterday after it originally went live, so ICYMI: Hotel Lobby is offering 20% off sitewide! I love the Hamptons scent for summer, but this Nantucket one has been a favorite this month (and the box is so pretty — makes a gorgeous gift). Also love this luxe hand wash!
+If you’re not ready to think about fall yet, Left on Friday is offering 30% off swim. I actually saw a lot of women wearing this brand at the pool this summer. Love all the different color combos and silhouettes you can mix and match. My favorite pairing I saw on a gal this summer: this top in red with these hi-waist bottoms in blue.
+Also! This Negative swimsuit is on sale. I own it in that fab cobalt blue. It’s a touch sexy up top (in a good way, but maybe better for adult vacation / adult swim for practical reasons). Go up one size — the material is divine.
+Ugh another SERIOUSLY CHIC new arrival at APL. These are so chic and could easily work with daywear! These are a good contender if you’re taking a fall trip with a lot of walking planned (think Paris, London), as they are chic paired with jeans and sweaters BUT boast the same performance midsole engineering of their athletic shoes. Somehow cushioned but still minimal on the silhouette.
+Another shop-til-you-drop shoe: the M. Gemi Una. Insanely comfortable right out of the box with this great, supple leather. I have in the leopard and j’adore.
+Obsessing over this asymmetric blouse from VB’s fall collection and gahhhh this suede Prada bag! I spent lest week curating a full edit on my top bag picks for fall here and will be writing up a full post/report soon.
+Two truly fab statement sweaters: this bear motif from The Great and this cozy stripe from Christy Dawn.
+Mushroom tray, for obvious reasons now 🙂
+Is anyone else excited to clip back into certain routines and habits that may have lapsed during the summer? Can I suggest Melissa Wood Health as a great companion and motivator for getting back into a workout routine? I love that she has videos of all different (realistic) lengths focusing on different parts of the body. I find it easy to stack one after a run or wedge on in if I don’t have a full hour to exercise. Fractionality, baby! My code is still active: JENSHOOP5 and the first month is only $5. I think you’ll love it!
+New eye cream from Ursa Major that has me intrigued: targets fine line with plant peptides, de-puffs with ash tree bark, and brightens with Wild Gentian and Vitamin C. I have become increasingly fond of this brand. As you know, I completely swear by their cleansing wipes (4-in-1s: they cleanse, exfoliate, tone, and hydrate). I love these for travel of course but also they feel like heaven after a long run, cutting through sweat, dirt, SPF, and seeming to leave you with a fresh, slightly toned canvas). Landon loves their golden hour recovery cream — he uses it nightly before bed. (This is another side benefit of the brand — and it’s not that Landon won’t use super feminine-looking products — but they do look a bit more gender-neutral. You could easily buy your husband or college-bound son this set if he needs a little skincare upgrade.)
+While we’re talking beauty: deeply intrigued by this new liplift product from Dr. Diamond. I’ve been using his plasma religiously all summer long and love it.
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