Simple, Sustainable, Slow. Let’s create space for a more mindful and peaceful motherhood, together. Join me for tips to simplify, intentionally build a more values-aligned life, and slow down.
unmoored.
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Hi Reader, It has not been my best summer. Like most summers, I had big plans. We always have more childcare all summer than the rest of the year. By June, I had a few big goals for Raising Slow and a few goals for our home. I wanted to garden! I wanted to get back into Instagram! I hoped to paint our exterior wall and garage! I wanted to use Pinterest to grow Raising Slow. I hoped to train for a triathlon. But I didn’t. I spent most of the summer trying to figure things out. Figuring out how to parent while in fight or flight mode. Trying desperately to get back into a grounded state. I talk so much about regulation, mindfulness and slowing down. I spent the summer doing just about the opposite. I felt fraudulent. I was parenting through loss, grief, complete dysregulation. I lost it with my kids more often than I care to admit. I spent more time repairing than we did having fun, enjoying ourselves. We skipped the beach for hours and hours of movies. I disconnected. I struggled every single time I tried to write to you. How could I send an email about mindfulness when I completely lost track of the last two hours with my kids? How can I send a note about regulation and breathwork when I just screamed at my husband in front of my kids. How could I talk about slowing down, noticing the imperfections, the sweet smiles, the sibling conversations when I could barely even get through a day without spacing out, mindlessly snapping, overreacting, not even hearing my little ones? In the moment, I couldn’t. In this moment, I recognize the necessity of writing it down. That the writing is part of this story, this journey. Raising Slow doesn’t exist without these difficult times, without sitting down and working through the s*&t in words. So here I am, trying to figure out how to be the mom I want to be while I struggle in my own world. I’m hoping to give myself enough grace to let this summer slide a bit (while also learning from it and doing what I can to make sure I don't get here again). I don’t have an answer for how to make it better. Probably never will. As we move out of this difficult summer and back into the rhythms of the school year, I hope to find my way back into my own rhythms (and with that, some measure of peace). I’m also hoping that if you are having a season of stress, loss, grief, whatever it is that takes you away from the mom you want to be, you know you are not alone. With so much love, |
Hi! I'm Jess at Raising Slow
Simple, Sustainable, Slow. Let’s create space for a more mindful and peaceful motherhood, together. Join me for tips to simplify, intentionally build a more values-aligned life, and slow down.
Hi Reader, A few weeks ago, I wrote about my annual fall effort to simplify, my general failure at doing so this time of year, and the inevitable near panic attack I have as the season unfolds. It gets busy this time of year for most of us. Our schools expect more, our kids expect more (costumes! gifts! parties!), we expect more of ourselves (I mean, I am decorating for no less than 5 holidays and a birthday in the next few months). I start out with the absolute best intentions. "This year I...
Hello dear mama, Thank you for being here with me on this motherhood journey. Raising Slow has always been a way for me to work through my own generational patterns, bad habits, lack of presence and patience. Originally, It was my sole intention was to write. Just get it all down, hit publish, and hold myself accountable. And, it worked. Writing out my worries and concerns, telling you the mistakes I made and how I felt, committing to what I wanted to be as a mom (the actions, more often than...
Hi Reader, Yesterday was Rosh Hashanah (or the Jewish New Year). Shana Tova if you celebrated. I love Rosh Hashanah, and any other reason besides January 1 to have a new beginning. A reminder that no matter where we are, what we are doing, we have a chance to start fresh. As a mama, this feels important almost daily. The permission to reset, reevaluate and potentially repair every day, the regular readjustments to the seasons and our little ones' needs, and our own physical and emotional...