Slow down; live day by day

This week has been a stagnant, cold week: but very typical for this time of year. We've had a lovely mackerel dish this week and I made a horseradish cauliflower cream. Yum. Squid tonight as I raided the deli counter the other day for the special offers.

This time of year when we can't escape outside as easily, the girls test my patience and pull my heartstrings more than anything. They have very small attention spans so staying inside for a whole morning or a whole afternoon can be testing, especially when it gets dark so early. We've been out for frosty dark walks to get us all out and ready for a nice warm bath. It feels like the ground is constantly hard and frozen. It's strikingly beautiful. More so than the summer, I reckon. It feels like we've been put on hold and the weather is telling us to retreat back into the warmth and hide away. But we have toddlers, so they need to get outside and thrive off that fresh air to banish all their ailments away.

Everyone has a cough that is lingering. Everyone is waiting for Christmas. And we're going away for the winter break tomorrow. We've spent this morning packing up the house and getting prepared for leaving. It's a mammoth task but necessary to escape the cold freeze and find our lovely cottage to explore a new place from. The presents are wrapped, the cards have been written and sent. The world seems balanced.

Unfortunately, the new road I wrote about last week has ended up being a dead end. But these abrupt stops in a pathway means that I'll have to go through a few brambles to find my way through to a new path instead. I'll bounce back after feeling a tad flat because opportunities always come our way when we are least expecting it. I can carry on enjoying the volunteering work I am doing now, and see what comes up next year. Now I can switch off.

I can totally slow down now. No more Mum groups to organise, no more lacrosse coaching sessions to plan, no more Christmas parties to organise. Just me and my little family and the open countryside.

A special thanks to my sister for inspiring my title this week.

Comments

Through the bleak grows hope: January 2025

One of my friends said to me last week that January is for organising. She's a vegetable gardener. More will follow about this later, but currently, I'm upstairs in our bedroom after a very average sleep. --- I managed the above three sentences before I was interrupted. It's now very common with three little lives that come bursting in on me in the morning. We had to get ready for the school run so off I went to convince them to stand still for more than a few minutes just to get them changed. I rudely interrupted their game of MumandDad. They really have the sweetest games. But this post isn't about 3-4 year old games. As always, I never know where this writing will take me but I have a vague idea and I know that I need to write. So I write. I'll crack straight on with this first post since March 2024...my mission is to use this blog to write every month. I have showered and dried my hair. Alone. A luxury in this Mum world I'm currently in. It isn't just ...

Another New Chapter: Full of surprises...

I'm writing this when I should be hanging the washing out. Logging on has made me realise that I haven't written since last year. It was on a book about the independent sector of education. I have had a lot of eye opening and life changing moments since that last post. Firstly, we are expecting our third baby...it still seems surreal to be writing that. I feel so lucky and overwhelmed with how busy our house will be and how much love can be in one home. A total surprise and I now have to navigate another fork in the road of my teaching career. Sometimes, life takes over and you just have to surrender to the family. It reminds me to slow down: how I'm here to love them, our children, and not my job. Yes, we have the most ginormous toddler tantrums with our middle one, but the cuddles she can give are just phenomenal. I wish I could cuddle her at this age forever. Our eldest is getting ready for school in September and is nearly 5. She is just so grown up. I wish I could rem...

What we’re searching for (in an aging world)

Every day I learn a little bit more about having three children. Every day they frustrate me but I’m in awe and so proud most days. Today, I’ve dropped off two children to two separate schools while the baby sleeps in the car. It’s all about timing. We’re used to it now. The weekend comes and the baby naps totally differently. A bit like us, I suppose. I’m learning that every stage goes so quickly but also lingers so long because you want it to end but equally you never want it to end. Motherhood is one big oxymoron. I’ve been thinking this morning about how different I am as a mother at 35 compared 30. I dread certain things because I know how hard it is breastfeeding exclusively. It is more exhausting now than it ever has been. The nights are easier. It’s the day. I want to do more than play on the floor all day. My mind is craving more now. Being in baby/toddler mode for so long takes its toll. My skin is getting slacker. It’s getting loose. I can feel myself aging. It’...

Quetzalcoatl

Search This Blog