Here comes the sun
Do do do do: February's journaling prompts for paid subscribers
February may be the shortest month, but this one felt incredibly long to me.
We’re still managing the side effects of my daughter’s new treatment and are still in the hospital every week for blood tests (as well as an overnight in A&E when she caught a bug and couldn’t take her medication).
In between those difficult moments, I’ve been trying to hold space for joy and connection in hopes her memories (and mine) won't be completely clouded by the hard parts.
Here are some of the small things bringing me joy recently:
Big Painting
This started over Christmas, when I decided to make homemade gift wrap by rolling out parcel paper on the kitchen floor and having her finger paint (and, it turns out, hand paint, foot paint, and belly paint) on it. It’s something we now do as an afternoon activity every couple of weeks: Roll out paper, tape it to the kitchen floor, pick 2-3 colours and go wild. Afterwards, I dump her in the shower, hang the paper over doors to dry, and wipe up any errant paint. It isn’t much more clear-up than painting at the table, honestly, and way more exciting. She has fun, I have an endless supply of adorable gift wrap, and we’re all clean and in our jammies to watch The Gruffalo together by about 4 pm. win-win.
Sunshine
The days are getting longer, and the sun is getting warmer. Parenting (and life) feels so much simpler when we can spend a portion of our day outside. In the depths of winter it’s easy to forget how transformative sunshine, fresh air and moving your body can be. Whether we’re running around the swing park, going for a toddler-paced walk, or just playing (and reading) in the back garden, this time of year just awakens some primal joy in my soul.
Learning
I’ve been taking a creative non-fiction course with Write Like a Grrrl and have loved every moment. It’s been wonderful to learn and practise non-fiction alongside a cohort of other writers. Fitting classes in at the margins of this season of motherhood has been hard but so worthwhile. They’ve been a window of time each week to nourish myself, as well as nourish my writing — both in the essays I publish here on Substack and in my book proposal. The course has been a reminder to write every day: just fifteen minutes pulls me closer and closer to my goals.
This post used to contain paywalled journaling prompts — I’m experimenting with a new model and you can get sixty prompts to write through motherhood here (for free). All I ask in return is to follow me on Instagram @zoepickburn and subscribe (also for free) on here — I’m currently working on building my platform to give my book proposal the best chance of success when it lands on agents’ desks, so every follow and subscribe really helps!