Dear Mr. Magpie,
Parenthood has given me new eyes.
I have always known you to be patient, living much of your life according to a do-it-well-or-don’t-do-it-at-all manifesto, which has always led you down the straight-and-narrow path: no corners cut, no task too tedious if worth the end result. But seeing you with minimagpie has revealed an even deeper level of patience, something almost religious in its quiet and selfless acceptance of the present and whatever it holds: I’ve never seen you fluster, or heave a sigh, or groan with exhaustion when minimagpie has woken for the fourth time in a row within ten minutes of putting her down to sleep. When she cries, you calmly put aside the Cormac McCarthy book you’re reading, or step away from the flour-spattered countertop where you’ve been hand-rolling pasta, inspired by Master of None, or set down your daily bowl of yogurt-and-fruit-with-granola, to attend to her. When I wake you in the middle of the night, asking whether you wouldn’t mind checking on her, you spring out of bed wordlessly, acquiescingly, without a shadow of frustration. You read her the same books day in and day out, sprinkling in new sounds and new observations each go-around. You sing her the same songs throughout the day, humorously lamenting them or parodying them in between, but repeating them to her nonetheless. You narrate the world around us, introducing minimagpie to new vocabularies, new sounds, new smells, always asking her what she thinks — “does the granite countertop feel cool on your feet?”; “do you like the smell of coffee?”; “that’s what boiling water sounds like; what do you think?” You invite her opinion, create space for her voice. She is little–too young to appreciate such gestures of love and affirmation–but I can see that you are building a beautiful cadence in your exchanges with her, one that is slanted favorably towards raising the woman of substance we set out to raise so many months ago.
I see you — not a new you, but a different side? a closer look? — in this pattern of gentle interactions, and, I just had to say it out loud: I love you for it.
xoxo
P.S. I love you for a lot of other reasons, too.
P.P.S. For my readers: minimagpie is wearing this gingham romper in the snap above ($35).
~~~~~
A propos of nothing at all, ten things that are also on my mind:
+THE POLKA DOT DRESS: I am dying over this polka dot dress ($168) in that cherry red color — the length, the cut. Maybe it’s in part inspired by all the dotted styles in my ode to Grace Kelly, though this dress is much more Marilyn. Hot tamale!
+THE STATEMENT SUNNIES: I just snagged these shades ($69) in timeless black, but I’m also digging them in this olive green color (on sale for $41)!
+THE SKIN PERFECTER: On Milk’s “Blur Stick” ($36): “The Blur Stick minimizes the appearance of pores and fine lines on every skin tone for an invisible, smooth, matte finish. Use it as a primer for a smooth finish and to lock in your makeup.” Yes, please.
+THE STATEMENT PANT: Silky, tiger-print pants ($98), OH MY. I own a pair of silky pajama-esque pants similar to these that I love to wear with a bodysuit during these summer months. And — even though I’m not typically a frequenter of this retailer, this bodysuit is only $15 and the uber-chic Arielle of SomethingNavy has been spotted in it several times on Insta (here and here), so…done and done.
+THE STRIPED ESSENTIAL: Speaking of J. Crew, my go-to striped tee for summer is now 40% off.
+THE COSMETIC KIT: Remember LeSportSac from middle school? (Or earlier?) I literally hadn’t thought about this brand in decades, but then they did a cool collection with Rifle Paper like this cosmetic kit, and this one.
+THE EVERYDAY DRESS: I know I’ve featured a ton of poplin shirtdresses recently, but — in large part inspired by the chic line Saloni (I own — and adore — this and this of theirs, both now on ridiculous sale, and lust after this) — they’re all I want to wear these days. I now have my eyes on this one in both navy and green ($98) — and that white bow-sleeved one I raved about is still available in a handful of sizes!
+THE BEACH READ: This is queued up as my next beach read. I’ve fallen into a delightful pattern of reading a substantive book followed by some sort of pop culture / beach read / page-turner. (And P.S.: My favorite beach reads ever.)
+THE SUITCASE ESSENTIAL: We’re traveling to D.C. tomorrow and, this time around, I invested in more internal compartments after finding our last trip home a bit of a nightmare, packing-wise. I’m especially excited about this set of packing cubes ($49) — because they’re clear, I’ll quickly be able to find what I’m looking for. I also have a bunch of Eagle Creek’s compression paks — genius.
+THE TIBI LOOKALIKE: This looks a lot like something Tibi would make, but is actually $178 plus 40% off right now. If you’re leery of the the jumpsuit, I also love this affordable utility dress ($118)!