Hello, my friend!
Happy early summer. My daughter Ava turns 21 today, and I woke up absolutely excited about it — so this week’s letter comes to you with a little extra brightness and joy.
↓ In today’s email:
- This week’s inspiration: An early-summer morning and a milestone birthday
- Latest blog post: Motherhood, family healing, and a 21st birthday
- What I’m listening to: The science of deep rest
This Week’s Inspiration: An Early-Summer Morning
I woke up this morning excited about my daughter’s birthday and ventured down to Le Bec Sucre, a fine French bakery nearby in Middletown, for an enormous loaf of sourdough and a No Vacancy coffee. While I hung out with dozens of people the age of my own children, I sipped a hot matcha latte with oat milk and wrote today’s newsletter — wishing every one of you a bit of brightness and joy.
Twenty-one. I can hardly believe the number. Time moves fast, and also slowly, and then all at once — and suddenly the baby I brought into the world is a young woman, taller and smarter and (often) funnier than me.
Life is really hard sometimes. I don’t have to tell you that. So this week, instead of waiting for things to settle down, I want to spend it celebrating the good while it’s right in front of me. I hope you’ll find something to celebrate too, big or small.
Latest Blog Post
I Melted Down My Grandmother’s Ring for My Daughter’s 21st
Today’s blog post is the most personal thing I’ve put out in a long time. It’s the story of Ava’s arrival, a dramatic home birth at 3:34 in the morning, and what came after: postpartum depression, and four generations of women in my family who couldn’t quite show love to their daughters. With Ava, somehow, that broke.
It’s also about a ring. My grandmother’s, which I had melted down and remade into two pendants, one for Ava and one for me. If you’re curious to hear more, the rest of the story is on the blog.
Happy birthday, Ava. 🤍
What I Listened To This Week
The Science of Deep Rest — Feel Better, Live More with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee
This week I listened to an episode with Dr. Elissa Epel, a stress researcher at UC San Francisco, on the science of deep rest. I’ll be honest with you: I loved the first twenty minutes or so, and then I felt it petered out a bit. But those first twenty minutes were worth it.
What stayed with me is her framework for different states of stress and rest—and how contemplative practices may help us settle more deeply.
It’s a good reminder, especially heading into summer, that slowing down is its own kind of repair. Give it a try, and let me know what you think.
Here’s to brightness, joy, and a little deep rest this week.
Dr. Catherine