The Sunday Steep #2: College move-ins, motherhood milestones and mourning what we've moved beyond

No matter how hard we work to savor the moments, we can't make them stay.

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Hello friend,

The day this comes out, Eric, my son Owen, and I will be making the long trek north to Michigan Technological University, or “Tech”, where Owen will be moving into the dorms and starting his college adventure. You can read more about his college decision in this post from last March:

I’m looking forward to returning to Houghton - under very different circumstances, this time, than when I was there in March. Viruses stay away, please: this sweet boy is leaving home and I don’t need any other reasons to bust out the tissues.

Seeing as how I’ve already seen three young men off into the world, you might think the goodbyes would be getting easier. But it’s the opposite, actually. Time seems to be speeding up and the moments we have left are compressing at an ever-more-rapid rate. When we get home from Houghton there will be just one child left in the house, Clara, who’s been pre-grieving her loss and loneliness for months.

Already, on most days, the house is so quiet compared to five or ten years ago, and it just keeps getting quieter.

A slightly more recent picture of my youngest son, on the eve of embarking on his college adventure.

I’m so happy and excited for Owen and his new life, but mourning the life we all once had, too. It turns out, no matter how much you appreciate and savor the moments as a mother, you can’t make them stay. I guess deep down I’ve known that all along, but sometimes it hurts to be right.

I’m sure I’ll be writing more about this in the coming months, but for now all I can say about this particular motherhood milestone is: what a world, where our job is to hold our babies close and then to let them go, and both are equally crucial, equally loving, and can also, at times, feel equally impossible.

In my cup…

Today I’m sniffling into a cup of Portland Breakfast* by Smith Tea, a blend of pu-ehr, Assam and Keemun black teas. This blend is smooth, dark, and complex, probably thanks to the pu-ehr (black tea that goes through a fermentation process, giving it an earthy flavor and sweet aftertaste.) It’s more mellow than a lot of stronger black teas, without that tannic punch you might associate with English Breakfast blends, and I love it with a splash of cream as silky-smooth afternoon writing pick-me-up.

Also, isn’t that mug sweet? I bought it, and the matching saucer, at a little resale shop/art gallery in northeren Michigan last weekend while on my annual trip with my two high-school besties, Missy and Jenna. The artist’s name is Rebecca Mott.

On my bookshelf…

As you can probably spy in the photo above, the subtly-shifting weather as we draw closer to autumn has inspired me to pull out my foraging and herbalism books again, to see what new sources of healing and nourishment I might be able to find just outside my back door. Alchemy of Herbs by Rosalee de la Forêt is a really great one to pick up if you’re maybe more interested in using herbs in your regular recipes than making tinctures and teas. The author makes a great case that herbs have healing properties in culinary applications as well as medicinal. You can find Alchemy of Herbs on Amazon or support indie booksellers by ordering a copy on Bookshop.org.

Also, a note that I’m still working my way through The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl. I put it down for a few weeks over the summer but have picked it up again, and will pick back up our regular conversations soon.

In my hands…

With cooling weather and ever-earlier sunsets, it feels like time for me to start stitching again! A game-changer this year: I started selling craft supplies in my new brick-and-mortar shop, which I wrote about in this post:

And of course I need to sample my products, right? I’m taking that idea literally, and on the long car ride home I plan to break out this cute little sampler that I pulled out of inventory a while ago:

One more thing before I sign off: I’d love for you to check out the latest episode of The Tea’s Made podcast. This week I’m answering some listener questions about pitching a book to agents and publishers, and next week I’ll be talking about the book writing process itself. So if you’d like to maybe write a book yourself or are just curious what I’ve been up to for the past few months, tune in.

That’s all for this week’s edition of The Deep Steep, friends. I can’t wait to spend time with you again! In the meanwhile, be sure to enjoy some slow, peaceful moments with your favorite warm beverage, and I’ll be back very soon.

-Meagan

p.s. I’d love to hear from you. What’s on your mind, in your hands, on your bookshelf, or in your cup this week?

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