I have come into a season of looseness — fewer plans, less on my plate, more space to tinker. A big part of this limberness: my manuscript is more or less done, off with the copy-editors for a thorough scrub. There are many phases of writing; I feel now like the August tree whose blossoms have fallen but whose leaves remain green: not in bloom but not yet winter-fallow. Verdant but unflowering, witnessing the slowest part of the season.
We recently encountered a Saturday with zero plans: no sports, parties, or obligations, not even the cloud-gathering of next-day plans, either. A big white space in the middle of the weekend. So we jumped in the car and drove to a nature preserve on the Chesapeake Bay, where we walked until the kids complained of tired feet, and then we fed them granola bars crouched in the buggy grass. We carried home silly jokes, the smell of the bay air, a couple of bug bites. My children wrote down every mossy and feathered thing they’d seen, from the delicate-legged egrets wading in the marsh water to the bunnies disappearing into the forelock of the brush. I felt a deep sense of well-being the entire day, as though I’d reached the bottom of a well. I found myself picking up the Patti Smith chaplet: Thank you Bay, thank you body, thank you birds. After, as we ate pasta on the back porch with the cicadas and redbirds around us, I wondered at the simplicity of the day. Its clean lines, its unfussiness. We were just a few stick figures stalking about in the grass, noticing things, carrying no expectations with us. We were holding hands, we were pointing at the sky, we were the simplest shapes of happiness.
What gives you this deep sense of well-being?
{My son’s illustrated list of the animals he saw on the Chesapeake Bay — I’d given both my kids these nature-motif journals to keep track!}
An abridged list I put together on the heels of that perfect Saturday —
Things That Give Me a Deep Sense of Well-being
A slow Saturday with nowhere to be
A small sign that I’m on the right path
Watching my children eat
Sitting on the back steps of my home after a solid run
A sentence that gives shape to an emotional wilderness
My mom calling me honey
That warm laundry feeling of returning home after I’ve accomplished something intimidating
Laughing off an embarrassing story with my sister (“oh my God, Jen!”) — lets the air right out of the room
Not having to fill in the blanks with a friend
Waiting for, then witnessing, the turn of the seasons
Remembering I don’t have to take myself so seriously
The first laugh my husband coaxes out of me after I’ve been crying
Post-Scripts.
+Today is my fifteen year anniversary with my husband! Wow! A propos: the best gifts he’s ever given me (none of them material), the time he handed me an envelope containing the universe, and a reflection on how we’ve shielded one another.
Shopping Break.
+Love this textured sweater jacket in the stripe!
+I’ve been crushing on RL recently. I just ordered this denim button-down (will be so cute with a pair of white eyelet shorts), and now I am beginning to lust after this play bag.
+Absolutely love this cardigan. I own in pink. Love the green, too!
+A perfect pair of white jeans. Imagine with this top!
+WAIT, I’m crushing on everything at The Upside right now: this sports bra, this leggings/bra set, and this fleece! ACK!
+Been living in these slippers.
+CHIC scalloped frames.
+We have this one occasional chair in our family room that I ADORE that our interior designer sourced and had upholstered. It has bobble wooden detailing on the arms and legs, and is so similar to this one.
+I feel like Julia Amory drops new fabulous pieces daily — I LOVE these shorts that she just released yesterday!
+The sweetest anorak for a little girl.
+Chloe vibes with these shearling-lined clogs. While you’re there — I am OBSESSED with this shearling jacket for a bebe. And this entire cord look!
+Wait, I just noticed AYR carries men’s clothing. I have this, this, and this in my cart for Landon’s fall wardrobe.
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In nature, as in our daily park sojourns in Ireland
In seawater: beach club?
Nude under a quilt after a shower
Journaling
In a clean house and clean sheets and sunlight and breeze
Holding a sleeping child
Seeing my nana
Crafting with my hands
White space in the schedule
The playground when the vibe is right and it’s a good mix of kids
Watching starlings from the terrace
Thunderstorms
Ripe peaches (really anything I buy in-season)
Picking green beans off the plant
“We ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and laughed and loved one another”
Nights out with girlfriends: suddenly I’m in college again, that sleepover vibe of intense friendship crystallizing
Gorgeous!! I found myself nodding at all of these. Thank you — xx
When I’ve completed a tough workout (and stretched!) and it’s still not even 9am.
Looking at a room that I’ve just cleaned/tidied.
When my 8yo still wants to hold my hand.
A particular view on our family’s favorite island – coming around the corner to see the white lighthouse across the harbor glowing at golden hour…ahhhh.
Making my husband laugh unexpectedly.
I love these – the feelings of holding my son’s hand and exercising by 9 are THE BEST!!! Thanks for these additions!
xx
Do you mind sharing which preserve this is? Thanks in advance!
Hi! It is the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (CBEC)!
xx
I am letting a big exhale out just reading your list, Jen! Such a great list, and I can relate to all of them! This one is poetry: “A sentence that gives shape to an emotional wilderness”
A few other things that give me a deep sense of well-being:
– When my daughter melts into me in a hug (I am never the first to let go).
– An unintentional nap — you know, the one in which you’re cozied up with a book in “your” spot on the couch, and you just drift off to sleep.
– A full body stretch.
– When I’ve baked something and nailed it (and my loved ones enjoy it)
– Arriving at my parents’ home (my childhood home) after a long 12 hour flight
I love these (!!) and had such a strong reaction to your description of the accidental nap and the hug you don’t want to release from. So gorgeous. Great additions!