Two
Dear reader,
It’s a special week in the Bode household — our little Gemini turns two years old! I’ve been all emotions as I paint our porch and have frequent party-related outbursts at Joel. What about a child’s birthday that makes the most stable mother transform into a sea creature of lore?
My rational mind KNOWS River won’t notice the wool craft balls to signify cream not white mermaid pearls for the birthday banner. A ludicrous detail for a child who stays outside at all costs, even sleep at sunset. Especially sleep at sunset. Pinecones and dandelions would prove sufficient gifts as these are the gems she finds on our walks to the lake. The painstaking search for a freshwater mermaid book will go unnoticed on the shelf for a while.
As we celebrate River this week, we celebrate the depths. Two years ago it was Joel, me, and our newborn alone in an empty hospital wing. A budding family in an isolated world. We clung to one another desperately. We found light in those crevices. One year ago we flailed in exhaustion, scurrying to stay afloat as a single-income family. Our parents hosted birthday gatherings for their granddaughter at a week’s notice.
This year, our beloved Moon Lodge embraces the light that kisses our shadows. The cuddles that warm an emptiness now filled. Laughter like flowers in the breeze convinces the saddest of souls to fold hands in prayer again. May it be so for our little sunshine girl, this week and always. As she has given to us with her presence alone.
Some creative things worth sharing when I’m not crying in the backyard to Trevor Hall’s The Lime Tree:
Reading The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George.
What is her motive? Or is she a secondary character in her own tale? Is she in the process of editing herself out of her story, because her husband, her career, her children or her job are consuming her entire text? — The Little Paris Bookshop
The word Dune showed up for me at the beginning of 2022. Halfway through the year, a sacred moment at Sleeping Bear Dunes, held by dune. I’m intrigued with the synchronicity between dune and pelvic bowl.
When we are very clear that we want to shine—and if we want to know the Goddess, we want to shine—then we attract into our lives the kinds of relationships that help us do that. Until a woman has given herself permission to be fabulous, she will not find herself with partners who promote her ability to do so. — A Woman's Worth by Marianne Williamson
Watching Derry Girls, a teen sitcom set in 1990s Ireland during The Troubles. Drawn to it due to my desire to travel to Ireland and find an ancestor’s grave. Seasons 1 and 2 are on Netflix, and the final Season 3 is on Channel 4.
Type Nerds: This number 2 is set in Clarendon, a slab-serif typeface originally made in 1835 by Robert Besley. Named after the Clarendon Print Press in Oxford, England, home of the Oxford English Dictionary & the King James Version of the bible. My favorite part of Clarendon letterforms is the ball terminals.
Surprised at the crucial role of Groceries. A weekly keystone event that used to be a mundane act pre-children. To be in my 30’s discovering this (the privilege) is laughable. How I think about growing & gathering around food is changing & dare I say, exciting. Interesting to observe my systematic processes once used to get million-dollar events off the ground now tackling my grocery lists & meal-making with fervor.
Related reads: Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist
What are you up to creatively? I’ve lost touch with you. What’s inspiring you? Book you’re reading? Workshop you’ve signed up for? Whatever new thing you’re trying? Vacation you’re taking?! Hit reply & fill me in.
The world is on pause for me as I soak in this moment that River Grace entered this world. See you in your inbox next month, around the July 13 full buck moon.
Thanks for reading! Hope you soak in the Solstice this month, until next time, Em
Originally sent to newsletter subscribers in June 2022.
