This little picture is to remind me of my word of the year; 'Nurture'.
For the last few years I have been using Leonie Dawson's amazing Year Planners an a part of that process is to choose a word for the year. The work-books are so powerful and in themselves have nurtured me to follow my passions the last few years...
This year's word came to me when I was out walking and not only is it a kind of visualisation of the work I want to find my way into (Nurture groups in schools), but it really captures the essence of the inner attitude I want to embody this year.
Nurture
I want it to imply a softness, and bring me back to remembering that all the little loving things that I do both for my family life and my lovely little business all add up... they don't have to be big things and they don't have to be giant goals that feel unattainable and then become lost as life marches on... that even just 10 minutes spent being fully present with a new project will before long turn into an hour, then a day, then a week and then it's done! Tiny, do-able steps with an attitude of nurturing something from not yet there to fully grown!
Last week we concentrated on getting our family rhythm back into synch - I really wanted the children to feel held in the evenings, and ready to wind down at the end of their day, rather than scattered and still demanding things that were just beyond their reach but that they had become used to in the holidays at times - like extra screen time or extended play time that was then difficult to come down from as they just wanted to "finish the game"... a solution has always been to do a focused activity together... but it's very easy to slip out of the routine of this - thinking up what to do when our thoughts are elsewhere and we are tired after a days' work... and for them it has to be something they want to do/find engaging after a day of following rules and some-one else's set agenda at school... My goal is to plan the whole week's evening crafts/activities and whilst it's getting easier (our preferred mode is being spontaneous when it comes to home-based activities!), we're not quite there yet...
So last week, I just took 5 minutes each day to think of something really simple to do after dinner on the evenings that we didn't have clubs or 'minecraft time' (which is always a Friday night);
♥ Then we used up an old soap making kit to make soaps which both children found so much fun
♥ Then we did shadow puppet plays using our shadow puppet theatre that we made last year - we all told a story and lots of laughs were had!
♥ On Friday night we sat and watched an episode of Star Gazing Live together (we have minor Tim Peake obsession going on in our house at the moment!)
♥ Last night we used up a robot-making kit that has been on our shelf for over a year...
Each activity was no more than 20-30 minutes, only required a little mindfulness and attentiveness to what we had to hand, and some presence from us as we spent time with the children. I see this time as nurturing their sense of focus and purpose, joy in learning, and connection to us. And all of us as a family have felt much less scattered in the evenings as a result! I don't know how long we will keep it up, but I'm nurturing the attitude that it doesn't have to be hard!
I also managed to finish the first draft of my illustrated children's story which I am going to find a way to publish this year - probably self publish, or even just print but I'm excited to have actually done it! Just a little bit each day - anywhere between 15-minutes to an hour, that's all... and I sit to it thinking "Oh this is so hard to get it all out", but then I also think "I love this little idea, I'm going to show you some love and watch you grow"... I don't know where it will lead, but again, I'm nurturing the attitude that it's possible to do anything and give birth and grow my dreams! ♥ ♥ ♥