What's Saving My Life
As usual I’m most influenced by those I listen to. Kendra Adachi’s The Lazy Genius Podcast on what’s saving her life in this season inspired me to write my own list.
Here are 10 things that are helping me navigate the rhythms of my days as we transition from fall into winter. This is MY personal list, perhaps inspiring you to consider what would be on yours.
Daily walks with kids outside: The gloomy, dark weather has been a downer over the past few months. But even getting out once a day (usually before dinner) to brave the dark evenings to walk the dog and get fresh air has been a grounding and fruitful practice. As the weeks go on, we have to bundle up more (my eldest like to scream at the wind “I don’t like that!”), and we are forced to look for the light in the darkness. Now we are searching for Christmas lights around our neighbourhood which fills us all with joy and excitement.
Breaking down a project into smaller parts: I’ve listened to the audiobook The Plan by Kendra Adachi twice now, the first to get an overview and the second time to deep dive into the concepts. Compassionate time management may be one of my favourite topics, and this book came out at the perfect time. One of her mainstay ideas is to “make it smaller” by breaking a project down into the smallest most manageable steps.
I applied this to my basement which felt like a behemoth. I sketched out all the different layers of renovation/organizational work needed and then started working through it. I brought in a friend to help me get started, and then proceeded to spend 12+ hours over the course of my November purging, sorting, planning, and collecting quotes for work. By breaking it down into smaller parts, I’m WAY closer to reaching my goal of a basement space that works to serve our family, instead of being an eyesore, or clutter/junk central.Clear containers for storage: My three words for my “ideal basement” were tidy, visible, and accessible. Every decision that I made for what to keep, where to store, and how to store (or even the structural renovation plans) needed to align with these three goals. Enter clear containers. Thankfully I already had quite a few I could re-purpose, but I bought a couple more from Walmart on sale and find using clear bins the most effective. I use bright paper with a marker to label them. Now I can see everything I have, it’s accessible, similar items are stored together, and I know where everything is. Win. Win. Win.
Simple tastes of fall: This pumpkin muffin recipe is so easy and extremely delicious. They turn out light and fluffy, and I’ve started adding in chocolate chips.
Weekly friend dinners: This is an uncommon practice in our culture, but one I’m growing more committed to as time goes on. Over the past year my husband and I have been investing in friendships with a few other couples in our life stage in our city. We started gathering once a week to share a dinner meal, and since we started connecting regularly, three little babies have joined the group. The food and tablescape are simple. The emphasis is being together.
Gathering with many young kids and navigating work schedules and activities isn’t simple. Often we need creativity how to fit everyone in the same eating space! But the practice of gathering, sharing a meal, sharing our lives, parenting alongside each other, and supporting each other emotionally/practically/spiritually has been life changing. As we “rub shoulders” weekly we often know the ups and downs of each other’s lives and know how to step in to support and serve. We often are extending (and receiving) support from one another. We are trying to live on mission together.Pants I can parent in: If this seems like a joke, it’s not. I realized a few months ago I needed to get some new pants that were comfortable to parent in. Like move around, chase toddlers, go for walks etc. But also wear out and about, so I didn’t want to get sweatpants (and I already have a pair of leggings I love). These Dance Studio Mid-Rise Joggers are my perfect pant for parenting. I can dress them up, or go super casual. They are so versatile and so darn comfy.
Lighthearted Christmas reading: I am blessed to be in a bookclub that meets monthly, but some of the books are intense and too emotional for me. Which sounds lame, but sometimes I just need to accept the limitations of my season of life, and I can only handle so much evil, depressing reading content. This month we chose to read I’ll Be Home (a contemporary Christmas story collection) in which one of the authors Sara Davison is actually in our group! She is a personal friend and a wonderful writer. Her short story is inspired by L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. It’s lighthearted, tender, and romantic. Along with the other short stories in the collection, it was just what I needed this month.
Deep dive reading on Mental Wellness/Illness: I found the book Your Brain on Pregnancy one Saturday at the library after our kid’s weekly swim lesson. I’m convinced all women need to read this book (regardless if they are pregnant). Written by a female Canadian doctor with tons of research and scientific data, this book centres on mental health and specifically how it impacts women, and can influence pregnancy and early childhood outcomes. As I have experienced unexpected depression in both pregnancies (but not postpartum), as well as traumatic flashbacks and nightmares, this book helped me make sense of my own story and offer hope for myself. It also is equipping me to be a better support to others struggling with mental illness and who may also one day experience pregnancy. There is so much hope!
Minimal Christmas decor: Part of my basement organization involved finding and pulling out my Christmas decor. It all fits in essentially 2 boxes. I’m thankful to have a few decor pieces we can use each year and a small collection of Christmas tree ornaments. As we spend more time indoors in the winter I value a clutter-free space even more. Having only a few decorations helps me feel festive but also keeps the storage realistic throughout the rest of the year.
Recording audio messages on walks: It’s hard to stay connected with friends in the busy flow of my days of school drop offs/pick ups, errands, rushing for lunch and nap times, working from home, cooking meals etc. As much as possible when I am walking the dog solo (or with just a baby), I find it easiest to walk and talk. I pop in my headphones and record audio messages for my friends to stay connected. Sometimes I use Voxer or often it’s just via iMessage or WhatsApp. Listening to my friends messages helps me feel more connected to them, and using my walk time for this helps me develop a rhythm of investing in friendships in the margins of my days.
