5 Things I’m Doing for Myself this Back-to-School Season

I do not say this with pride, but I’m fairly certain I haven’t read a novel since I was pregnant with my first child. I’m attempting to dive into nonfiction again. The two books currently glaring at me from my nightstand are The Whole-Brain Child by Dr. Daniel Siegel and Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, and  The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt.

We recently returned from a family vacation to Vancouver Island, Bristish Columbia. I missed the greenery the instant we left it and have been on a mission ever since to make our home feel as alive and fresh as our time on vacation felt.

Many years ago I was fooled into believing I had a green thumb by the cutting of a pothos plant that my mother gave me when I left for college. That nearly indestructible houseplant grew so well and so fast I have filled seven or eight other pots with cuttings from that original.

Don’t water it for a couple weeks? No big deal. Never repot it? No worries. Maybe fertilize it once a year? All good!

I would have sworn to you I was an amazing plant person until I lovingly and tenderly murdered the most beautiful angel hair fern I spent too much money on. Those particular ferns are delicate and finicky, and I love them, but I do not have the magic touch.

With cautious optimism I have purchased yet another one, along with some money trees and rubber plants to add texture, color, and more fresh air to our home. And since we’re not ready to commit to a pet, this is a great opportunity to teach my children about caring for living things besides themselves.

We added a shelf to the bedroom wall opposite the bed and found a variety of houseplants from the farmer’s market. I’m loving the texture and color added to the room.

This was a difficult thing for me to do, honestly. I adore cooking. I’m good at it. My family adores eating. We’re a little too good at it.

Most of the time I really enjoy planning meals and shopping for food. However, I have a serious amount of stuff to get through in the next couple of months, and planning meals takes me a wicked amount of time.

I have enjoyed using eMeals in the past because I still do all the shopping so there’s no pile of little plastic bags and individual serving pouches common in most meal delivery programs.

Now I have even less time on my hands so I’m using Hungryroot. My stress level is way down, we’ve discovered great new recipes, I still get to cook a little and spend time with my husband and child. Total win.

My mother didn’t own a sewing machine when I was growing up. We didn’t have home economics when I was in school. One quarter of my seventh-grade year, there was an elective after school to learn how to use a sewing machine, which I took and made an adorable quillow.

I haven’t used a sewing machine since, despite the innumerable craft projects I’ve wanted to pursue. To me it seems like a basic maintenance skill someone in the family should possess.

Taking a non-mommy-and-me class has felt too indulgent since I became a mom. Of course, it’s not indulgent at all. It’s necessary and valuable. Before baby I took all kinds of courses for fun. I miss it, and I can’t wait to make another quillow next month when classes start back up at my local shop.

I am perpetually busy. I’m finally at an age where I understand that’s not a good thing. Doing nothing really means anything I can reasonably afford that is just for me and has nothing directly to do with my never-ending must-get-done list. Like so many others, I have tried to pour from an empty cup for too long.

Making time to watch tv and paint fills me with as much joy now as it did when I was in school. Usually I’m trying to shop for kids stuff on my phone while the tv is on. That’s not fun or relaxing.

I recently discovered I like sound baths. I like being still and listening to the wind in the palm trees outside my patio. I occasionally also hear my neighbors singing wildly off-key to their favorite disco hits but I’m genuinely happy they’re happy and sometimes I sing along.

This summer we started attending family hangouts at a friend’s house on Friday nights. The host was trying to reclaim the sense of community she had in her immeidiate neighborhood growing up. The several families that make it regularly all live many miles apart.

So, while it’s not convenient, we all get tremendous joy out of getting together to decompress, drink our own beverages, and do absolutely nothing.  

Whether or not you have children at home, take some time amongst all the back-to-school rush to embrace the spirit of new challenges and new beginnings at this time of year. Choose a few areas of your life to commit new energy to. Kudos if they are things that are genuinely difficult for you.

Whether studying the brain, taming a plant, relaxing a part of your schedule, attempting a new skill, or boosting your professional development, the time is right to get started. Model for your children that adults also learn, unlearn, and relearn information, skills, and habits throughout their lives. School is just the beginning.