The Everyday Joys

The post-winter malaise, which seems to be dragging its heels a little (much like winter), has led to much thinking. Not quite soul-searching, just the sort of thinking that happens when boredom sets in. More like subject-searching, if crafting is going to take a bit of a back seat for the time being and I’d rather not write about Tiny all the time. That’s unfair on Tiny. So I’ve been trying to find something else, something I’m sufficiently interested in to keep coming back to, ideally without too much repetition. Deviation, yes, but not so much repetition. That becomes boring for both of us.

What, then, will I write about?

Well, there’ll still be the odd bit about crafting, as I find the odd five minutes to make a card or set a stitch – we’re working on re-doing the craft room, partly to give M space for his models – and there’ll be some old familiars: Library, Kitchen, Garden. Some reviews, some general chatter. The continuation of Life with Tiny in tow. Nothing heavy or overly negative. I might even get M to write the odd thing for me. Like some of the garden bits. Or perhaps about fossil-hunting.

My aim is to keep this a cheerful, friendly corner of the Internet, as I continue to craft a contented sort of life. Never mind a contented baby: if the parents aren’t contented, neither will baby be.

So I’m hunting the Everyday Joys of Life. The little things, the everyday joys, which help to keep one on an even keel, not the highs or lows of roller-coaster emotions. Such ups and downs are exhausting. I’m after the gentle blip of a fairy cake, not the giant leap of a cupcake. The quiet pleasure of having a clean and tidy kitchen. Early summer sunshine, before the temperatures get too hot. Or late autumn sunshine, before it gets too cold. Favourite things. The things that get you through the hard times and the dull days.

Not the expensive joys, though: I’m on standard maternity pay, I can’t afford the expensive joys. Anyway, they aren’t the everyday joys. Everyday joys are the cheap and cheerful. The fairy cake with the afternoon cup of tea. An afternoon spent reading. Learning to grow plants, to make the garden pretty with flowers and salads fragrant with fresh herbs. The sudden discovery that a much-liked book series has a new volume, either ready or available to pre-order. Coming upon a patch of bluebells in the woods.

Fortunately, it seems that, finally, summer may be about to begin. Admittedly for hay fever sufferers, this is not the everyday joy I consider it to be, but long sunny days are definitely overdue this year. Days of adventures and exploration, of finding new flowers and butterflies, of slowing down to smell the roses.

I’m hoping reducing the posts to once a week will give me the time and brain-space to write better posts, at least from my perspective. You might not agree, which is fine. This is my space, after all, and I want to enjoy it. That was part of the problem with the post-winter malaise: I was bored and struggling with finding the fun. And fun is necessary if I want to continue. There’s no point if it’s not fun.