Slow, summer days at the start of the year

Happy New Year friends, not sure if I have said that yet? And if I have, there’s no harm in saying that again now is there? We are still on the road between family homes and visits, catching up with cousins and siblings and doing lots of not much in between. We had a wonderful week as ever at the farm, the pace is so slow, the scenery a treat and this year we had a full week of warm sunshine every day. Absolute heaven.

I love the time we spend with Rob’s Dad and step mum every year, it’s very special to be with them and settle into the rhythm of their days. I read and read and read and read (check out my new hashtag on Instagram #babymacreads) We’ve just had a few days with my sister and her kids with my brother and his kids over the weekend. The weather has been wet and cool and sea misty with little sun after an absolute scorcher on Saturday. The last of the guests have left and now it’s back to those slow days, some reading and resting. Poor Mags is sick with a cold so today is a couch day while I catch up on some work and washing.

I’m trying something new this January – instead of getting anxious about what I “should” be doing back home, getting stuck into projects and cleaning up (is everyone on earth buying clear plastic containers and sorting their life out Kondo style?!) I am practicing the art of BE-ing. Enjoying the here and now and spending some time on personal reflection before the madness begins. It’s not comfortable for me AT ALL, but I figure the other option of getting anxious and cranky isn’t much fun either so it’s worth a shot.

I wrote on Instagram the other day how this time of the year causes me such angst – the need to DO pushes away the quiet time that might be needed to reflect on the here and now – to BE. Set some goals, write down some shit. It can’t hurt can it? So that’s what I’m trying. All that stuff will be there when we get home, it’s always there and it can always be sorted soon enough.

So that’s me, now, watching a poorly Mags on the couch as she sleeps, listening to Rob working away in the office, the kids watching TV and me and my thoughts.

What have you been up to?
Have you cleaned your house within an inch of its life?
Got 87 plastic cubes for things that bring you joy?
Or sitting with your thoughts like me?

Whatever it is, have a good Tuesday. Be grateful for good health, family and friends I think that they might just bring the most joy of all.

Comments

  1. Joanna Evans says

    Another gem from your quiet space, Beth. Setting the mind’s receiver to an alternative channel is sooo worth it – even if it’s only a once-in-a-while habit – before the everyday static of routines and adulting resume the airwaves. I’m at under 20 plastic cubes for joy with a couple of ginormous bags for Lifeline to collect next week. Books – I’ve got a good tally going. Cleaning – I love my dry cloth mop (you get it!). Thoughts – plenty of them plus a few more from a visit to the dermatologist this morning that will now involve removal and correction by a plastic surgeon. I NEVER thought I would EVER have to ring to make an appt. with Dr Plasticfantastic … So my receiver is tuned into positivity – it’s reliable for a good-day-soundtrack or two 🙂

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