My writing studio is on the second floor of our home, and its windows look out into a thicket of trees. From this perch, I see neither trunk nor top crown. Instead, I stare at the full and breathing middle of things. The canopy, the roots are out of sight. I witness a mayhem of limb and leaf, and a lot of birds and raindrops and maybe a rat snake, too. From this seat, I carry the half-formed thought that the trees might go on and on, and endlessly, disappearing into the sky. Which is to say, I succumb to the fallacy of perspective, the notion that whatever is in the viewfinder is the full or the forever.
Listen, we never have the full picture. We are always looking at the middle of something.
So accept these full and forgiving branches. Come see what they have to tell you about bending in the wind, and drawing light from the far off places, and accommodating change in the seasons, and sheltering other beloved life forms from the fitfulness of the weather. There is a lot to love in this heavy-branched center.
Post-Scripts.
+Related: if it feels hard, it is hard — welcome to the murky middle of things.
+Something to repeat to yourself if you’re in search of more gratitude or positivity.
+What does good advice look like?
Shopping Break.
+GAP! This dress is spectacular!
+Alice Walk just restocked their gauze collection and I love these shorts — own in white and great for pulling on over swimsuit or pairing with a tee in the morning. The blue are so cute, too!
+I think I need this for my patio. I’m freaking out over it.
+Love the idea of this knit top from J. Crew with a patterned skirt or pair of pants.
+UM, adorable hand-embroidered basket bag.
+For your golf-loving mini me. And for golf-loving you — I just got this golf dress for myself! My parents are giving me new golf clubs for my birthday (!) and I need to have the right accoutrements.
+More court-to-course finds here.
+Hi-lo: wooden fish salad servers ($10) and the most spectacular glass salad bowl from one of my favorite tabletop brands, Half Past Seven. (Get 10% off sitewide with JEN10.)
+OMG Ann Mashburn…I need this yellow striped caftan.
+More stripes I love: these pants! I saw them on my friend Lauren and was convinced!
+The cutest cardigan.
+Pam Munson, of wicker bag fame, just released some really elegant ready to wear pieces, like this gorgeous shell pink dress.
Image via Studio Dekorasyon on Upsplash.
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