It’s been nearly a year since my final post on my old blog, Who’s Your Mummy. So what happened?
So much. I’m now a mother to a two year old, for one. The seismic shift in our lives was huge and difficult to put into words.
With Jack’s change in career came new challenges and I decided, officially, not to return to work from my maternity leave. The decision wasn’t an easy one but it has been worth every second.
So we shuffled and shifted into a new normal and I’ve been adjusting to life as a stay at home parent. From March to September we had a revolving door of coughs, colds and flus. I wrote this on my Instagram in August:
“I know we’re certainly not alone in the endless merry-go-round of sicknesses this winter. Similarly, I know it is difficult for a lot of us to honour times of rest.
This week my 19 month old has watched more TV in 3 days than I think he has in his entire life. It’s only Wednesday. The laundry has piled up. With a crackly chest and runny nose I have been on hands and knees scrubbing every surface of the house that has been neglected during this winter period.
The world doesn’t stop just because every member of this household catches a new cold with every trip to the store, play centre or work site. The gums keep teething, the brains keep growing, the garden needs tending.
It’s hard to not be overwhelmed by the deluge or imagine yourself doing egg beater kicks just to keep above the water.
When I sat our son in front of the TV on my very isolated, rainy 28th birthday – something clicked and I just felt every muscle of my body relax into this.
I can’t deny it. I can’t make it go away with a litany of vitamin D, C, stock and broth. Illness is rife this winter and it’s time to rest. Time for work, play and sunlight is coming.”
I guess it epitomises the learning curve we went through as a family, how strongly our values and priorities changed. Sunlight is here and we have certainly begun to play in it. But the year fell almost stagnant in it’s twilight months, so it was timely to re-evaluate almost everything.
I sat down with our budget. Gained a better grip on our finances, paid down what little debt we had (for those interested, I used the snowball method). Family and leisure time was the cost of creating a more comfortable position for ourselves. No longer scary broke but sensibly well-padded.
In the midweek we attended a nice playgroup and sing-song swimming lessons at the local pool. Hobbies were never on my radar until this year. I ferociously devoured whatever pastime I could – jewellery making, baking, bread making, gardening, crafting.
I treated myself to a gorgeous leather bound journal, yellow. And started scribbling. Dot journaling, shadow work, writing prompts from Pinterest.
With my blog, I’d become such an unbridled perfectionist that I couldn’t enjoy blogging and what it initially represented. I wanted to do the best writing I could and publish multiple times a week. I’d created a second job for myself.
I took a step back and didn’t open WordPress again until today.
Not only that, we’ve been busy planning our wedding for the last 12 months. It’s getting close now – only forty-something days to go.
We were so busy working and growing and resting the year slipped by without notice. So here I am; new blog, less pressure.
I have many goals for 2023 but this year they feel so much more tangible. This year we want to do more holidays and travel, have our wedding, more play, and grow grow grow.
I hope you’ll follow along!
thelittlemontessorihome.com 