Thus far this year hasn’t begun as expected.
Nevertheless, at the moment, Davy is napping. So here I am typing this blog post which I’ve been mentally drafting for almost two weeks. Please forgive any obvious typos. I may not have time for my normally obsessive editing process. 😂
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I’m planning to self publish my book Discover Your Creative Ecosystem this year.*
And, y’all, it is A LOT.
I know I could easily lose myself in that and burn out within a month. So I chose my word for 2022 as a counterbalance to that.
My word of the year is ROOT.
To cultivate a balance between productive and restorative time.
To increase awareness of my own capacity (rather than barreling along until I crash.)
To make space for things like reading, rabbit holes, journaling, gardening, and going for walks.
*If you’re wondering why I’m talking about ecosystems when I was writing about motherhood… that book is next! This was the first chapter of my Maker Mama manuscript and has become a work of its own. Once this baby is out in the world I’ll return structural edits for my creative mama book. ✏️
Last year I spent a lot of my alone time on external pursuits. But I had very little time for quiet contemplation (the bit I loved most about postpartum life.)
I can’t sustain that pace. I need more time focusing inward. Growing roots to support my branches. Tending my creative ecosystem. And learning to respect my own needs.
One important layer to this is taking my time to publish.
To go at my own pace and stop racing.
Ditching in my whirlwind launch plan for something slow and measured that unfolds slowly over the course of the entire year.
Or, that’s how I envisioned ROOT last week. When Davy was at school and I spent a luxurious morning with a cup of tea and Susannah Conway’s Unravel Your Year.
Now that I’m in full time mom mode for January (and perhaps longer) the word ROOT has taken on new meanings.
This month I’m focusing on our family’s roots. But that doesn’t mean neglecting my own. I learned this the hard way in the summer of 2020. So I will go slowly. Outward growth will be small awkward shoots (like this blog post.) And among the mayhem of mothering I will listen closely to what I need.
Yesterday I was so exhausted I just napped when Davy napped like they tell newborn mothers to do. Other days I may need to read or journal or have a quiet bath.
All of this is rooting.
There is so much to delve from this word, and I’m sure I’ll discover more depth of meaning through the year.
I have hope that the C*VID situation will improve and Davy will go back to Montessori in February. That will allow me a bit more time for rooting. And for publishing. I am so close to ordering proof copies of Discovering Your Creative Ecosystem and opening up preorders. I am so close to holding a book that I wrote in my own two hands.
But I’m also rooting. Honoring my own creative ecosystem. Respecting the capacity I have in this moment. And growing at my own pace.
I invite you to do the same.
Sarah xx
P.S. Another element of my rooting is to reimagine Patreon. I’ve just added original art to the $5 tier if that’s something you’re interested in.
P.P.S. How lovely is this custom collage by my friend Kate? 🥰 If you’d like a reminder of your word-of-the-year she’s your lady!
