Bespoke April

If Life is what you make it, then why can’t a month be what you make it too?

April in New England is usually chilly with a biting wind.  But I still prefer an April Easter over a March one.  I’ve never been fond of spring or April and since grief never makes an appointment, I expected this month to be very very cold for me.

Instead, I planned ahead.  So many of you have asked me for my reading list which I include below.  Most of the novels are “old” books as they are the most comforting.  I enjoyed each one.  And although April has proven itself true to form, it has been sunny here.  That combined with reading has given me a fighting chance this month.  Here are some other things that have helped:

Embracing Easter

I noticed last year how many adults were wearing bunny ears on social media.  It seemed as though many people were enjoying Easter like never before and I made a mental note.  For me, the holiday is primarily a holy one because I am a believer.  I was a Sunday School devotee and therefore taught about the sanctity of Easter and still cherish its meaning of hope.  But now that I have little grandchildren, why not adopt some of the pagan aspects too?  My day will include Mass but also candy, Easter baskets, bunny ears, and joy.

Skincare

I could listen to and watch skincare and makeup expert, Lisa Eldridge all day long.  Her charming “one of us” gal talk on YouTube made me realize that I haven’t been caring for my skin the way I should be.  This, especially after watching her “Long Haul” video about the pampering routine she employs on long haul flights to New Zealand and Australia – it’s epic.  I’ve been doing it All Wrong.  And hearing about her love for the French pharmacy, my sister and I visited one in Greenwich Connecticut this past winter where we treated ourselves to a few unguents and treatments that have never been in our repertoire before.  We continue our routines, have inspired friends, and are sharing our new knowledge.  April fun…

A New Swimsuit

What women of a certain age doesn’t love buying a swimsuit (my hand is raised high).  This year, I was inspired by an old letter I found within my mother’s papers.  It must have been special because she saved it, written to her by a friend who was away at the shore with her family for the summer.  The vernacular was charming and ended with, “Be a good girl and keep your eye on Buddy while I am away”.  There was also an irascible youth named “Stagger” who was mentioned more than once.  It all reminded me of a 1950’s “maltshop teenage romance novel”.  But more importantly, almost the entire letter was about my mother’s friend’s new swimsuit – the importance of finding the perfect one, how lovely the found one was, where it was bought, etc.  The letter had me googling “Ann Marie Reid bathing suits”, “hourglass suits with shirring”, “salmon-colored suits”, and “bloomer bottoms”.  The detail in the letter was incredible.  Naturally, I decided that this would be the spring I would find a perfect new swimsuit of my own and take great care in doing so.  After two online returns because of color and then a mistake in sizing, I now own a tasteful and pretty watery blue-colored swimsuit, sans bloomer bottoms.

Thoughtful Gardening

Unable to afford a landscaper or gardener, I decided to make use of a local free service for advice.  I have a small bit of grass, a spindly rose bush, and a gasping hydrangea that if I’m lucky, produces one pale blue bloom in August.  The local university has a gardening and environmental hotline service that has been very helpful and has me dreaming of a better summer yard.  Many communities have this resource which is often found under “Extension Services” and is sometimes run by local master gardeners.

All the above had helped me create a self-made, bespoken month that despite grief and cold, has been pleasant.

~

Recent reading list:

Marcia Schuyler by Grace Livingston Hill

Junior Miss by Sally Benson

Safe Return by Catherine Dexter (a warm, comforting adolescent read about the healing power of knitting)

Good Stuff – A Reminiscence of my Father by Jennifer Grant (heartwarming memoir by Cary Grant’s daughter about the actor who was also a loving and amazing father)

How to Make a Dress by Jenny Packham (beautiful evocative descriptions of dresses by the famed designer)

Wintering by Katherine May (more on this book later)

The Flowering Thorn by Margery Sharp

Miss Clare Remembers by Miss Read

Flower Diary by Molly Peacock

~

Praise the spells and bless the charms,

I found April in my arms.

April golden, April cloudy

Gracious, cruel, tender, rowdy…

~ Ogden Nash