Every summer, we talk about the invitation to embrace slow, an intentional reset that leans into abundance, togetherness, and lingering. The heat feels like the extra weight we need, pulling us back from any tendency to rush. I wonder if this annual declaration for the summer of slow is a desperate grasp from the depths of my knowing: we won’t have it unless we create it. In between travel and camps, collection launches and brainstorm sessions, this is actually yet another season that can feel like I’m tumbling from one thing to the next.
A few weeks ago, we hosted Charlotte’s school friend and her family who is moving out of state. Char Char has always loved setting the table and she laid out new linen dinner napkins I was testing. She looked at the table with such satisfaction - mama, we need to do this more often! As I took in the table that took her all but five minutes, I paused for a moment, remembering that this was the whole point. We never set out to make yet another dinner napkin - like everything we’ve done, they’re a beautiful conduit for connection, intentionally gathering around the table as a means of being together.
That night was a Fancy Friday Feast, but our intentional weekly rhythm has now become our Marvelous Monday Meal. Whether we’re ordering pizza or I’m simmering a stew, the good napkins are out, a candle is lit, our whole presence is mandatory, and the mundane becomes marvelous. If you’d like to join in on this weekly rhythm, simply reply to this email and we’d love to send you something special.
While I love being able to share my musings here, I’ve found I have so many that end up slipping away. I’m not the journaling type, but I’ve thought about how I’d love to keep a visual diary for my girls about what my life was like as I was raising them - lessons I’d love for them to hold on to, all the snafus, setbacks, and successes along the way. I’m sharing those more regularly over at @patsnotes on instagram and would love to share notes with you, too. No frills and fuss, just another pursuit of community and connection.
To more marvel,
Pat
