close
SM-Stamp-Join-1
  • Selfish Mother is the most brilliant blogging platform. Join here for free & you can post a blog within minutes. We don't edit or approve your words before they go live - it's up to you. And, with our cool new 'squares' design - you can share your blog to Instagram, too. What are you waiting for? Come join in! We can't wait to read what YOU have to say...

  • Your basic information

  • Your account information

View as: GRID LIST

Embracing the seasons

1
We’ve had to turn on the heat in the early mornings, which are staying darker, longer. Leaves of orange and brown rustle under the empty swings at the park, and when the wind blows through the trees they rustle as only dry leaves about to drop can. It’s official: autumn is here.

I’m also taking my nearly-one-year-old into his new nursery for settling in days, walking out the door with his cries ringing in my ears, and washing and ironing my work clothes as I prepare to go back into work five days a week. My last maternity leave is nearly

SelfishMother.com
2
over.

There’s something to be said for embracing the season – both literally and figuratively – for what it is, not trying to make it what it isn’t. 

In our family, we’ve been trying to eat with the seasons, so the past couple of weeks we’ve celebrated with one of our favourite foods: apples. We’ve had apple cheddar melts for dinner (a few slices of homemade bread topped with caramelised onion chutney,  thin layers of crisp apple, and thick slices of cheddar, under the grill until the cheese is brown and bubbly). Apple slices with peanut

SelfishMother.com
3
butter or chunks of cheese. Apples are available year-round, of course, but in summer they are mostly shipped in from places like South Africa. They never taste half as good as British apples in autumn and winter, which tend to be crisper and sweeter, with a satisfying crunch when you bite them.

Similarly, we’ve had several weeks of worshipping all that is summer. My five-year-old spent a few good weeks trying to climb every single tree he passed; none were safe from him trying to get a leg up on them. We had adventures exploring, from the seaside to

SelfishMother.com
4
joining the throngs at tourist hot spots in London. We spent lazy afternoons at the playgrounds with the best shade, treating ourselves to ice creams as often as necessary.

Jean-Paul Sartre once said, ”To read a poem in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June.” January isn’t the time for flip flops. It often isn’t even the time for lots of evenings out after work, as everyone is worn out from the festivities of December. But to embrace winter in all its glory can mean cosy nights in, comfortable slippers, great literature in a

SelfishMother.com
5
favourite armchair, warming home-cooked food. Quiet. Poetry.

There’s real wisdom in embracing what is beautiful about right now, even if it isn’t what we think we want.

So just as we’ve learned to embrace what we like about the new season – apples, roast dinners, my favourite cardigans, sprinkling cinnamon on my coffee at home, reading Robert Frost – I’m wondering if I embrace the seasons of life in the more figurative sense as easily.

The current season of my life is transitioning back to work. It’s my baby becoming a toddler. It’s having

SelfishMother.com
6
two young children who both end up sleeping in the bed with me, and learning to get some sleep while sandwiched between them like sardines. It’s holding hands when crossing streets, listening to my son explain the latest development in Shark World on the iPad, practising his spelling words, and reading bedtime stories.

It’s also having to type this out one handed while my one-year-old nurses (true story). Rushing to have time to shower most days. Back-to-back evenings of dinner and dishes and baths and homework and brushing teeth and bedtime stories

SelfishMother.com
7
before my husband and I finally collapse on the sofa with a sigh to enjoy an hour of television, tea and conversation before bed. This is a season where my dreams and ambitions will face the time crunch of having two people who rely on us.

But the mistake is expecting it to be anything other. Someday I’ll be waving my youngest off to university and my time will be much more my own to paint or sew my own clothes or write poetry. And then I’ll probably miss this time, the cuddles, the all-encompassing sense of being needed and wanted by my

SelfishMother.com
8
sons.

This isn’t to say I should give up on my dreams or sacrifice myself and my self care because time is so devoted to my sons. But it’s the difference between rolling with the punches, or trees bending with the wind, rather than pushing against what is.

Simply acknowledging the season of life in which I find myself makes it easier to celebrate what is. I can also see a way of meeting my needs, but in a way that embraces the season rather than trying to make it what it isn’t. 

SelfishMother.com

By

This blog was originally posted on SelfishMother.com - why not sign up & share what's on your mind, too?

Why not write for Selfish Mother, too? You can sign up for free and post immediately.


We regularly share posts on @SelfishMother Instagram and Facebook :)

- 2 Oct 18

We’ve had to turn on the heat in the early mornings, which are staying darker, longer. Leaves of orange and brown rustle under the empty swings at the park, and when the wind blows through the trees they rustle as only dry leaves about to drop can. It’s official: autumn is here.

I’m also taking my nearly-one-year-old into his new nursery for settling in days, walking out the door with his cries ringing in my ears, and washing and ironing my work clothes as I prepare to go back into work five days a week. My last maternity leave is nearly over.

There’s something to be said for embracing the season – both literally and figuratively – for what it is, not trying to make it what it isn’t. 

In our family, we’ve been trying to eat with the seasons, so the past couple of weeks we’ve celebrated with one of our favourite foods: apples. We’ve had apple cheddar melts for dinner (a few slices of homemade bread topped with caramelised onion chutney,  thin layers of crisp apple, and thick slices of cheddar, under the grill until the cheese is brown and bubbly). Apple slices with peanut butter or chunks of cheese. Apples are available year-round, of course, but in summer they are mostly shipped in from places like South Africa. They never taste half as good as British apples in autumn and winter, which tend to be crisper and sweeter, with a satisfying crunch when you bite them.

Similarly, we’ve had several weeks of worshipping all that is summer. My five-year-old spent a few good weeks trying to climb every single tree he passed; none were safe from him trying to get a leg up on them. We had adventures exploring, from the seaside to joining the throngs at tourist hot spots in London. We spent lazy afternoons at the playgrounds with the best shade, treating ourselves to ice creams as often as necessary.

_To read a poem in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June._.png

Jean-Paul Sartre once said, “To read a poem in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June.” January isn’t the time for flip flops. It often isn’t even the time for lots of evenings out after work, as everyone is worn out from the festivities of December. But to embrace winter in all its glory can mean cosy nights in, comfortable slippers, great literature in a favourite armchair, warming home-cooked food. Quiet. Poetry.

There’s real wisdom in embracing what is beautiful about right now, even if it isn’t what we think we want.

So just as we’ve learned to embrace what we like about the new season – apples, roast dinners, my favourite cardigans, sprinkling cinnamon on my coffee at home, reading Robert Frost – I’m wondering if I embrace the seasons of life in the more figurative sense as easily.

The current season of my life is transitioning back to work. It’s my baby becoming a toddler. It’s having two young children who both end up sleeping in the bed with me, and learning to get some sleep while sandwiched between them like sardines. It’s holding hands when crossing streets, listening to my son explain the latest development in Shark World on the iPad, practising his spelling words, and reading bedtime stories.

It’s also having to type this out one handed while my one-year-old nurses (true story). Rushing to have time to shower most days. Back-to-back evenings of dinner and dishes and baths and homework and brushing teeth and bedtime stories before my husband and I finally collapse on the sofa with a sigh to enjoy an hour of television, tea and conversation before bed. This is a season where my dreams and ambitions will face the time crunch of having two people who rely on us.

But the mistake is expecting it to be anything other. Someday I’ll be waving my youngest off to university and my time will be much more my own to paint or sew my own clothes or write poetry. And then I’ll probably miss this time, the cuddles, the all-encompassing sense of being needed and wanted by my sons.

This isn’t to say I should give up on my dreams or sacrifice myself and my self care because time is so devoted to my sons. But it’s the difference between rolling with the punches, or trees bending with the wind, rather than pushing against what is.

Simply acknowledging the season of life in which I find myself makes it easier to celebrate what is. I can also see a way of meeting my needs, but in a way that embraces the season rather than trying to make it what it isn’t. 

Did you enjoy this post? If so please support the writer: like, share and comment!


Why not join the SM CLUB, too? You can share posts & events immediately. It's free!

Blogger, coach, founder of Happy Parent UK (http://www.happyparentuk.org), where I provide free resources and affordable coaching for happier parents.

Post Tags


Keep up to date with Selfish Mother — Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media