Spring feels as good a time as any to begin something new. I have grappled with starting to write for several years and now here I am, finally setting free some of the thoughts that have been fluttering in my head since becoming a mother. Out of all the changes that occurred in new motherhood, perhaps the most unexpected was my sudden desire to connect with others. As a lifelong introvert I suddenly began approaching women in the park with babies to ask what they were doing, how they were doing. There is a universality in the experience of motherhood, and for me the most fulfilling way to relate to others is through the sharing of stories.
Throughout this motherhood journey my craving for these stories has been constant – the birth stories, the joy and despair of the first months, the rage and elation that toddlerhood brings – I want to hear them all and also to tell them. As a lover of text, it is important to me how the stories are told, because sometimes the words that are used are just as important as the story itself. There is a power in sharing ourselves with others, and sharing our stories with the world is an act of immense courage. So I hope these stories speak to you – if even one person feels seen after reading them, then it is worth spending my time to tell them.
As I embark on the new journey of homeschooling my 5 year old I keep having this sense that we are doing something so significant and life-changing, and that it is an important journey to share. I had always planned to homeschool in the future, but now I look down in surprise and realize that my baby has morphed into a small human with huge thoughts and ideas and I realize that we are both ready to begin. I hope to share stories that reflect the rhythm of our journey, but also to explore the process – what we are doing and how it is going.
The stories that I think about and want to share are about homeschooling and motherhood but also will inevitably curve back to gardening and being outdoors because at my core I am someone who loves to be surrounded by green, growing things. Growing plants and using those plants to create the food we eat has become such an important aspect of raising my kids that there is no way to separate that part of our lives, nor would I want to. There are so many connections between the act of growing plants and raising children – being a gardener has undoubtedly made me a better mother and human. A love of nature has become an integral part of our children’s lives and will be reflected in the way that we spend most of our days.
I believe there are so many benefits to writing about life; by exploring what we are currently doing and how we are doing it, we can create space for insight and accountability into the choices we make. It is easy to get lost in the shuffle of modern life and forget to prioritize the practices which scaffold our most important values. So here it is, here is what we are doing to make it work – to raise our children in the most intentional and thoughtful way that we can, doing activities which reflect our love of nature, food, gardening and learning. This is Swallowtail House, welcome to our home.