Review | My Winter Manifesto
We’ve shifted into spring and it’s time to look back over my Winter Manifesto to see what I invited in and how the season shaped my day to day. Here’s a reminder of the manifesto I created for this winter:
Cultivate our space inside
Gently document our first winter as parents
Rest, hibernate and recover
Walk and notice the shapes of winter
Plan with simplicity and clarity
Cultivate our space inside
For me this part of the manifesto was written to help me cultivate the space inside myself and the space inside our home.
We’ve lived in our edwardian terraced house for almost four and a half years and have only changed a few things since we moved in. We decided that it is time to make our home feel even more of our own as we plan to be here for quite a while longer. We love our lifestyle and the location we are in and want our space to work better for us, improving storage and how we use the space we have, and most importantly working out how we shift what we have into a family home and space for Chloe. Our internal building works have taken a lot longer than expected but soon our utility room will be ready and we’ll have a space that we can really use rather than a room with just appliances in.
We started decluttering last year, and used the Marie Kondo method to tidy a few parts of our home earlier in the year. It’s hard juggling looking after a little person and clearing out space but by the summer I know that we will have worked through more of our home.
Cultivating the space inside myself has been an interesting journey during the winter months. There have been ups and downs and a real need to hibernate. I needed to find my way as a new mum and navigate the continual changes happening. I’ve spent time making a few plans for the year and working through my feelings adjusting to my new role, and the differences in my own identity.
Gently document our first winter as parents
During March I started a new habit of taking more photos and videos of Chloe to document aspects of each day. A little snippet of life with her playing, laughing, and being with us as a way of memory keeping for the future. For a long time I’ve wanted to use 1SE app and I decided use it to add in clips and photos taken each day since Chloe arrived. It showed me the power of documenting our lives and how much she has changed. They are clips to treasure. I get a lot of pleasure from capturing photos and noticed how much I loved video too so I’ve signed up for Xanthe Berkeley’s Make Films course.
Documenting for me also meant journalling. During the winter months I started noting down more basic details of our day in my journal so that I can go back and see what we did each month. I’m hoping to either start digital project life or using the physical memory keeping cards again. I’m still a little undecided.
Rest, hibernate and recover
These three words became a focus for the winter season and were very much needed after Chloe arrived earlier than expected. I hadn’t finished work and was unprepared both in a practical sense and in my mindset. Being someone who is a reasonably well organised person and not having everything I wanted ‘ready’ ahead of Chloe’s arrival was a big shock. The recovery process for both my body and mind took most of the winter and continues now. I know that I am in process of restoring myself and learning as I go. I chose to hibernate with my little girl and noticed myself shifting to being more active as the season gently shifted into spring. I’ve started organising more things to do in the spring months.
Walk and notice the shapes of winter
Walking became a key focus of the exercise that would enable me to build my stamina again. Every other day and sometimes daily I would go for a walk with Chris, Chloe and Juno to our local park. I needed fresh air and time out of the house, and most importantly the exercise. For someone who used to walk about 70 minutes a day as part of my commute to work, it was a hard adjusting to having a body that felt like it had aged considerably. All my get up and go energy I had ahead of pregnancy was no longer there. Gradually my fitness levels started to build and are beginning to return to what I feel are normal levels. Walking during the winter meant that I’ve been able to see the small changes happening in nature. Noticing the growth of snowdrops, berries, and other plants, and then capturing the changes in the light with my camera has connected me with the winter season.
Plan with simplicity and clarity
For me this was about bringing my planning skills into my life at home. It took a while to get settled, I started making more notes in my journal, adding plans to the diary and thinking ahead beyond a week at a time. I’m using a bullet journal format again as I wanted the simplicity and clarity in what I do day to day recorded and documented.
My winter manifesto and experiencing the season felt so different being a mum and being on maternity leave. It’s hard to put into words as it is a deeply personal feeling I have inside, one that slowly gained more energy and strength as the season progressed and one that has been shaped by the season.