Slow days, garden time and a life, lately

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I’ve stepped away from the online world of late. The noise and pace of a life lived online felt too much, and I felt called to slow down, to step away from the laptop and phone more and just ‘be’.  I took Facebook off my phone, even deactivated my account over the weekend so  I could just have some total peace. Immersed myself in my little world – just me and my four kiddos,  spending slow days reading, crafting, playing in the garden, just spending time together and making memories.

I’m feeling like it’s time for a new chapter, a new direction in life, though to be honest, I have no idea where I want to go or what I want to do. All I know is I want to slow down, to savour these days, to not spend them behind a laptop, or with my face buried in my phone all the time. That isn’t easy when living online is how I make my money, so maybe it’s time to find a new way? I don’t know. Without the distractions of the online world, I feel more peaceful, less stressed and anxious. I’ve been reading more and creating more and being more present for my kids.

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Shaking off the ‘shoulds’ and ‘must do’s’ for more spontaneity and flexibility. Throwing the meal plan out of the window on a rare sunny day after days of rain and BBQ-ing instead. Forgetting the time, and spending long evenings out playing in the garden, letting Beastie stay up past his bedtime, enjoying home baked treats, and going to bed with sandy feet and smiley faces. My garden is my happy place, my little slice of tranquillity. I put a lot of work into it earlier in the year, clearing up the mess it was, adding colour and making it into a place we enjoy spending time. I got rid of the awful metal shed that we had, after clearing out a whole load of junk we just didn’t need two sheds and it was such an eyesore. The space it left gave me back a patio at last. I made-over our old garden dining set to give it a new lease of life. A few cans of spray paint, and it’s gorgeous and colourful and almost as good as new! I may have gotten carried away with the spray paint and painted anything else I could get my hands on haha! We also ripped out all the bushes that were in the border, transforming the space into a more usable vegetable patch. We have peas, corn, courgettes, swiss chard, broccoli and cauliflower growing in there at the minute. I also created a new herb bed, and we have strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes and salad all growing too – feels so good after a couple of years to be back to growing some of our own food again.

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We’re also in the midst of a bedroom reshuffle. Until now, Lola had her own room, as did Beastie and Kiki and Baya share the largest bedroom. Lola and Beastie swapped rooms right before Christmas to give Lola a slightly bigger room, and I’ve felt for a while now that Kiki was getting to a point when she really needed her own space. So given that Mr Beastie doesn’t actually use his room at all, Kiki is having his room, and I’m putting his things in with Baya -though he sleeps with me all night, so she kind of has her own room too! We’ve started painting Kiki’s new room, the next task will be to dismantle her cabin bed so we can move it.

Next week the kiddos and I are heading back home to my dad’s for a few days away – catching up with family, and enjoying a break away from reality. I’m hoping some space from the hustle and bustle of our lives will give me time to figure out my next move!

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2 Comments

  1. Janet Dance

    June 15, 2017 at 00:16

    A heart felt post…..we all need space and to slow down the rapid, some what relentless pace of life

  2. Zoe C

    July 13, 2017 at 12:01

    Enjoyed reading, I know the feeling with this, I am making sure we as a family have lots of lazy days in the garden this summer

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