There are lot of things I should be writing about at the moment, the garden, the birth of piglets (I will, I promise), homeschooling…the list goes on. But what I find is on my mind, is just the people that surround me. I am struck time and time again by how darn lucky I am in my life. I don’t know if I’m just fortunate or if I just have some kind of awesomeness radar but I know a lot…
My friend asked me yesterday if I still experience the same enjoyment of where we live or if, after waking up here each day for nearly two years, the excitement has worn off a little. I thought about it a lot as I did my morning chores along with the sunrise, marvelling as each new turn brought a fresh view of golden autumn morning. Following Winnie on her early constitutional I was afforded such beautiful moments, glimpses of perfection that…
When I take the boys out with me and there is a bit of waiting time for them, I often get the same comment from people, “They are great at using their imaginations, it’s lovely to see children playing like that.” I’m paraphrasing but that’s roughly it. The thing is every kid I know plays like that, they spend hours at it, inventing games, running around like maniacs, making cities out of furniture. You know, being kids. We spend hours…
There is beauty in embracing the reality that things kind of suck. There is beauty in the abandonment of self, the crashing aside of the props of ego and the delicious decline into unmitigated annoyance, grumpiness and self pity. The cascade of freedom that unfurls within as we allow ourselves to cry “But this is rubbish!” I try to look for the positive, don’t we all? But I have to say I loathe January. Now I don’t know anyone who…
I’ve been re-reading the excellent book Radical Homemakers by Shannon Hayes recently, I’ve read it before but that was prior to us moving here and doing some more of the activities she talks about in her book. Reading it with fresh eyes (and with the perspective of new experiences) gave the book a much sharper resonance for me and has brought up questions that I have no real answers to but still can’t shake off thinking about. One of the…
I’m sharing another guest post over at Rhythm of the Home today, pop over if you have a moment! Have a beautiful day.
Sometimes I feel confused about my role in life. I am a mother, teacher, partner, farmer, cleaner, organiser, friend, disciplinarian and lover of pigs. In any one day it is easy to feel pulled in many directions. Particularly when it comes to deciding what is right for the boys. Which curriculum choice is the best? Should we focus on reading skills or just snuggle with a story? Am I failing them when I don’t live up to what is in…
Earlier in the year I posted about some of the health issues I was facing and how I was trying to deal with it, I realise I haven’t posted on this topic since but it is never far from my mind. After that post I went on and did more tests, one of which was a very sensitive adrenal test, it measured my cortisol levels throughout the day and into the night. This revealed that my cortisol is the same…
It may seem odd that one day of vacation could give rise to so many thoughts, but it isn’t often I really have the chance to sit back and watch my family without being at the centre of things. We were sharing it all but separate, all experiencing the same thing but excited by it in different ways. Stephen loved the ingenuity of the engines and farming devices, I loved the simplicity, beauty and order of the environment and the…
Each day (two or three times a day in fact) we walk a now familiar trail across our fields. ‘We’ is me and the dogs, them bounding, me striding, through the increasingly tall hay in bottom field. Along the way we check on animals, bees, vegetables; we patrol this place of ours, checking each piece is as it should be. I wonder, as we walk, about other trails that may have criss crossed this land, faded long since just as…