I’m a little behind on sharing my 42 days but it’s all still been going on in the real world. Week 3 ended with some fairly focused work on goals, life priorities etc and being clear on whether both my own and my family were living in line with our goals. As a family we have made some pretty big moves and taken a few leaps of faith in the last year. Checking in with where we are at was the right thing to do. On to week 4!
Ever have those weeks where they are the absolute worst in some ways but ground breaking in others? This week was one of those.
Day 22 - Prior to having kids I used to love certain craft stuff,. Handmade cards was one of the things I really enjoyed and I used to make my own Christmas cards. Now this year I had planned to send a very small number of cards (to reduce stress and cost since most of the people I would be sending cards to are overseas - have you seen the cost of postage???) so I decided that making cards for the few people I would be sending cards to was achievable. So out came my craft stuff, I resolved not to be too perfectionistic and to just have fun! And that’s what I did. The kids magically didn’t bother me and I just got to zone out and create! There were 100 things I could have done rather than spend the time crafting christmas cards, especially since I didn’t have the excuse that it was an activity for the kids. But sometimes you just need to do something that you’re drawn to at the time regardless of logic.
Day 23 - Started with a lovely guided meditation and moved on to a surprise trip to the river for some stand up paddle boarding. I got a spur of the moment invitation and whilst on many a day I would have found a reason not to go, I found myself saying ‘yeah, why not?!?!’ It’s something I’ve wanted to do since before I had kids but I never got round to it in Wellington despite the amazing setting, and never felt the urge to do in the UK, so this was my initiation in to SUP…. and I LOVED IT!! So meditiative, so calming. You can’t really focus on anything else (or at least I couldn’t as I was using a friends beautiful board not intended for beginners so it was short and pretty unforgiving). It’s definitely on my list of things to work in to my schedule in the future and something from my bucket list is now ticked off. Yes, this is actually me in the photo, looking somewhat steady on Weyba Creek.
Day 24 - Hubby and I made some time to give each other a back massage and foot rub. Awesome!
Day 25 - After much umming and ahhing I signed up to a two and a half day retreat with Birthing from Within. It’s a slightly scary prospect, not because of the retreat, but because it’s a flight away from where we live and I haven’t been in a different room from my youngest overnight, let alone a different city, so going away for 2 nights is going to huge! But I’m so ready for this and it’s so great having something like this to look forward to. A month or so ago I wouldn’t have considered this without taking the whole family, and then written it off as too hard, but I’m looking forward to allowing myself, and the boys, a new level of independence.
Day 26 - Chats with one of my besties. We don’t live close and schedules don’t always align but sometimes it’s worth making it work despite it being the kids dinner time, bath time etc etc. It was so lovely to catch up and also for her to give me a bit of a kick up the butt about I need right now. (point of accuracy: I look nowhere near as glam chatting on the phone as the beautiful image I’ve used haha!)
Day 27 - Enforced self care! Woke up barely able to turn or tilt my neck to the right and as the day went on the pain got worse!! So a day of lying on the floor or bed as much as possible (again, not looking as glam as the woman in the photo). PMT kicked in too so full blown hibernation mode was initiated, aside from a visit to the Chiropractor (ironically for my son, not for me).
Day 28 - and day two of little to no movement in my neck. Managed a cuppa with a wonderful friend who also worked some miracles on my neck but still pretty much in damage limitation mode. No thoughts of self care beyond managing the pain and giving myself time to heal (which is one of the most important forms of self care I guess) so I arranged cover for all of the remaining classes I was due to teach that week. It actually felt really self indulgent, which was ridiculous given I couldn’t actually move freely, let alone teach yoga! But it’s a valuable observation that something which logically is a no-brainer, still felt like a luxury.
This challenge has really got my questioning some of my default reactions to ‘fun’ or ‘cup filling’ ...it’s ‘too hard’, ‘I haven’t time’, ‘there’s other things I need to be doing’ and I’ve found when I say yes, funnily the other things still get done or we manage without them getting done. I’ve also been hearing some pretty big messages from the universe about slowing down. First gentle advice from my Kinesiologist, then succumbing to a cold/sore throat (unusual for me), and finally physically stopping me from keeping going dur to neck pain. So Universe, I’m listening. I can already tell you that the week 5 sees some definite action towards really seeking balance and reconnecting with myself. The seeds of what’s to come were planted in this week and last. Bring it on!
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you someone else is the greatest accomplishment.”
Ralph Waldo Emmerson
Until next time…
Anne x
I’m Anne, Mum of two, Postpartum Doula and Yoga Teacher specialising in Pregnancy and Postpartum Yoga. I run Postpartum Preparation Workshops and Yoga Classes on the Sunshine Coast alongside In-home Postpartum Support and Yoga for new mothers who don’t want to settle with exhaustion and overwhelm being their introduction to motherhood. You can enquire about or book my services by e-mailing anne@blissfulmothers.com.au or click here: