As of 7:47am Wednesday morning, after the birth of a precious baby girl, I am off call as a doula for just over two months! It was a wild six weeks of being on call for five babies, three of which came in a one-week span. Weeks of waiting to be woken up in the middle of the night to soothe mamas or head to a birth. Weeks of having a back-up doula in case something went haywire and I needed coverage. Weeks of staying mostly local to be ready to dive in on short notice. It’s a beautiful gift, getting to witness these babies enter the world and seeing moms and dads and the strength that builds families. It’s also exhausting at times to nurture everyone’s needs the best I can - in home, out of home.
We just hit Fall Equinox and while I didn’t do anything special on the actual day, I love watching the trees slowly change, and the way I’ve been able to grab a sweater in the mornings and cozy up with my coffee. Autumn always feels like the perfect invitation to recalibrate and notice, but I often hit the ground running straight into it, filling my calendar with oodles of plans forgetting to slow down and make space. Today we met up with friends for a walk through a meadow, enjoyed a picnic lunch, and the chance to jump in mud puddles with our rain boots. I picked a tiny bouquet of flowers as we walked - I do this now, a way to refocus, linger, as I wait for tiny legs to catch up.
This feels like the first fall in awhile that I’ve had breathing room going into it. I’ve been able to say “yes” to some fun stuff and “no” to some other stuff that I don’t want to commit to right now. I have had trouble prioritizing creativity lately when it seems like I can’t get ahead of taking care of my house, but I’m learning to not sacrifice one for the other because they are two different but equally important qualities - order and play.
Reset Wins
Creative Speed Dating Cohort
A big way I’m committing to a reset this fall is by participating in a cohort called Creative Speed Dating. It has been so fun to be given themes and prompts each week, and then space and accountability to run with them.
This week I created a collage self-portrait. I had gotten the idea as I moved about life, but when I swung by the rest-stop on the turnpike the other day, I scooped up a Pennsylvania tourism magazine and used that to create my collage. (I just want to say, I’ve very proud of the anatomical heart I cut out just from eyeballing a picture.)
Park Date with Friends
We met up at the park and let the kids run around with sticks and climb trees while we talked about traveling and prayer and things that make our souls sing.
Sipping Fall Drinks
So far, my favorite drink this fall was a pumpkin cortado, but the cold brew with pumpkin cold foam I had after a birth was delicious and a great pick-me-up after being awake from the wee hours.
Wearing Fun Outfits
I scooped up this perfectly fall dress at a yard sale this summer and broke it out for church on the last day of summer. I've been trying to hone my outfit vibe a little more and get rid of clothes that don’t work anymore.
Reset Goals
Declutter My Closet
I want to quiet my closet and start over with what pieces I love and what pieces I need to pass along. I’m definitely keeping my eye out for fun/funky jeans and pants, because I love graphic tees and am learning how to style them better. Also, I get tired of having clothes that I never choose take up space.
Make a Windchime for Our Porch
I have all the supplies except the top piece. My goal is to get one and make the chime this fall. I’ve been itching to have the soft music on our porch.
Reading Aloud
We have been reading aloud Little House in the Big Woods on our at-home mornings, but then the past few weeks we got out of sync. I'm trying to read aloud before bedtime in hopes of sweeter transitions to rest.
Quiet My Bookshelf
My bookshelves are one of my favorite things in the house, but lately I’ve just been wanting to simplify them a bit. I ordered several jute square baskets to pop in a few of the cubbies. This will also make them more functional for items I want to have on hand.
Find a Great Harvest Bowl Recipe & Make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
These are two cooking related goals of mine for the season. I just love seasonal cooking and embracing the senses.
Some friends and I were talking today about how travel and adventures change when you are raising young kids. It wasn’t a negative conversation, more just an acknowledgement of the season and the reminder that it won’t always be like this. But I’ve been learning to focus on micro-adventures with and without my kids: things that are fun but smaller scale than some of the trips I’ve done in the past. I’m realizing that building creativity into my life is like micro-adventures. Am I pulling out the watercolors with my kids? Am I trying new recipes that nourish our bodies? The focus of the reset isn’t on the size, it’s on the doing.
What are you resetting or a goal you have in mind for the fall?
This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series “Reset.”
Oh, I loved reading this post and the ways you are resetting! I love making tiny bouquets of wildflowers as I walk- what a picture of walking towards whimsy and lingering with beauty. These reset goals too— I can’t wait to see what you get to! I also want to declutter and quiet my closet.. let’s check in with each other on this one.
Love the collage self-portrait! And that pattern on the dress! Cute!