My Autumn Action List

When we were on holidays in Denmark, I delved into Sara Avant Stover's book 'The Way Of The Happy Woman' and spent many nights curled up by the fire, deep in thought, taking in her wisdom.  While I'm already more than happy with my life, I mulled over little changes I want to make to our family rhythm, to bits and pieces I want to incorporate into our daily life and of memories and moments I want to do my utmost to cherish.  I dreamt of simplifying our days even more, of looking for little ways to improve our already healthy diet even further and of getting our albums and other forms of  'memory keeping' up to date.  I pictured afternoons spent soaking up the sunshine while pottering in the garden, of rainy days spent inside continuing to craft and of opportunities to teach my big girl more and more skills as her kindergarten journey progresses.  I realised the importance of carving out some more 'me time' and regular exercise in order to nurture myself and to help me be the best wife and mother I can be.

Returning home however and with reality setting in, I feel as though there's a huge chasm between where I want to be and where I currently am... with a multitude of obstacles and 'to-dos' hampering my efforts to make these lifestyle changes.  I know that before I can invest the energy in mindfully making small lifestyle changes, I need to tackle a mounting list of tasks before me first.

And so, setting ideals aside momentarily, I made another list of all the things bugging me and jobs which I've been putting off time and time again.  Things such as stocking and organizing our pantry, replanting our vegetable patch in preparation for winter, backing up our photos and wading through a back-log of an email inbox were all jotted down one after another.  Some of these items I highlighted for their sense of urgency, others found their way onto a list of future less vital 'to-dos'.

Aimed with my autumn action list, I've been far more productive.  As we've settled back into our post-holiday normality, over the past few weeks, in between the daily chores, meal preparations and playing with my girls, I've been conscious of my dilly-dallying and have been slowly crossing off these niggling tasks (mainly during nap time on kindy days).  Last week alone, I managed to stock-up our supplies and re-organize our pantry, made a dent in sorting through my online files of haphazardly saved photos and sorted through our laundry cupboards.    

With winter fast approaching, I'm hoping that soon, I'll feel more in control and more organized... and that come June, I'll be able to sit in front of the fire on chilly nights and enjoy the delightful feeling of hibernation that the colder months brings... not only dreaming of all the little things I want to try, but satisfied that I've actually made some of them happen...


Sorry for the belated giveaway winner announcement... was a busy birthday weekend.  All names were put into a bowl and Paul was given the honour of drawing out the winner who was... Katrina of Capturing Moments. Thank you to everyone who entered and thank you to all of you who support this little blog of mine...