Hi friends! I have never been so over winter and the never-ending construction in Dumbo, but Luka hit the two month mark this week, which felt like a happy, significant milestone. We made a trip up to the Columbia Tennis Center (where Ilia played in college) to mark the occasion.
Without further ado, here are 10 things I consumed / enjoyed / considered this week:
This quote on writing: “You write because you have to. If you rationalize it, it seems as if you’ve seen this sight, felt this feeling, had this vision, and have got to find a combination of words that will preserve it by setting it off in other people” (emphasis mine). Of all the answers to the question “why do you write?” this one really resonated with me.
The idea that it’s possible to “live the wrong life.” This is something I think about often. What am I preoccupied with today that is keeping me from doing the things I’m best at / meant to be doing? How should I change my life so I’m giving my best to the world? The novelist Rachel Cusk touches on this idea in an interview here and in one of her novels, Transit, which I have yet to read.
Luka’s smiles and coos. He is interacting a lot more now, and we are already teaching him a few words in Russian and French ;-) Ilia gave him his first pop quiz the other day on parental provenance, and I’m sure a tennis racket is coming soon.
A speech by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker on the authoritarian playbook. More people need to say, out loud: “We don’t have kings in America and I don’t intend to bend the knee to one.”
This FT article on JD Vance’s message to European leaders at the Munich Security Conference last week. An excerpt:
“What Vance did was to subvert the ideas of freedom, democracy, and shared values that have underpinned the western alliance for 80 years. In his world the battle for freedom in Europe is no longer about deterring an autocratic and aggressive Russia, as it was for Harry Truman or Ronald Reagan. Vance’s fight for freedom is a battle to save ‘western civilization,’ as defined by Elon Musk and others, from the twin threats of mass immigration and ‘the woke mind virus.’”
An article that sets the record straight on who started the war in Ukraine. That’s Russia, of course, in an unjustified and unprovoked full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The seasonal khachapuri at Chama Mama. It’s made with puff pastry and it’s so delicious!
Knitwear from my favorite French store, Sézane. I have the Gaspard cardigan in many colors, most recently the mottled grey.
Matrescence, the book I wasn’t really connecting with during pregnancy (that I mentioned here). The stated purpose of the book is to provide a radical new examination of the psychological and physiological significance of becoming a mother, and I do think it raises some important points in that regard. I’m about halfway through now and I’m not captivated by the writing or the storytelling, but I like that she addresses everything from her traumatic birth experience to care work and creativity in late-stage capitalism in a mostly unsentimental way.
People who acknowledge how hard the first two months with a newborn are. For example, in an email on an unrelated topic one of my friends wrote: “I know this time is tough, but you’ll get through it.” When you’re in the thick of it — however much you love your baby and being a mom — a few simple words of encouragement mean a lot!
As long as there are no major mishaps with the start of sleep training, you can expect Letter No. 13 in your inboxes this Sunday or Monday. Until then, xoJess.