yes those little daily rituals make life sweeter. My fave little ritual when my son cant sleep is we sneak back downstairs to share chocolate coated digestives and a cup of tea together. My husband and other son are usually asleep so it's time just for us and he usually shares secrets he wouldn't tell me otherwise. I have similar ones with my other son who is an early bird. A lovely way to start and end the day...I do sometimes wish for time on my own but then I know I'll miss these gentle sweet moments.
"He usually shares secrets he wouldn't tell me otherwise" I LOVE this. I know it's about ritual, but I also love inviting those shared times that open us up for those interactions with people we love. I kind of see driving my kids to sport or after-school stuff similarly. Something about the quiet time that often opens up conversation. It feels special in a mundane kind if way. (Probably be even better with added chocolate biscuits though!!) 💚
Filling my hot water bottle before bed and sliding into a neatly made bed. Evening Me is always grateful to Morning Me for taking the time to make the bed, even when the morning is busy.
How great is a nicely made bed?! And thank you for reminding me of the joy of a hot water bottle too. I get insanely cold feet and never think to heat up a hot water bottle before bed. I know what I'm doing tonight! 💚
What delighted me in the comments in the chat was the number of times that a cup or pot of tea featured! A cuppa is a sacrosanct bookend to the beginning of my day and when I think about it, reading a chapter or two before sleep invariably bookends the other. The power of little actions cannot be underestimated x
Yes, me too! I drink a sleepy herbal tea every night before bed, but all the comments about making a pot of tea have me intrigued to go a little deeper into the tea as ritual. And 100% agree with you on the power of little actions, Winsome. I reckon they're the big ones. x
My best friend, who lives in a different town, and I play wordle and quordle daily and share results with each other. Followed by a very quick catchup and sometimes not even that ... we have been doing that for almost 15 months now I think. The day one of us misses it, surely we can expect the other to send a concerned text or call before noontime 😃
We open the curtains and say ‘good morning new day’ - it helps to set the day off to a ‘good’ start no matter what the weather is or what it might have in store for us. It’s always an extra bonus if we can see the cows on the paddocks opposite us 🥰 Rituals of self care for myself are harder to include consistently with a 2.5yo and 3m old, but this one is easy and my daughter loves it too 🌈
I love this so much. Just a sparkle of optimism to start the day - who knows what a difference that might be making. And what you're role modelling to your kids. Oh my heart! So beautiful.
Also, if it helps, I hear you on the self-care stuff being tough when your kids are that age. I remember it well. Sometimes all I could do was treat a very mundane household task like a moment of mindfulness. Hanging out the clothes turned into a five-senses scan, chopping veggies was a minute to really feel what was happening in my body... that kind of thing. My psychiatrist suggested it, and I scoffed, but it was genuinely super helpful. 💚
I very much relate to book-ending the start and end of the day with delicious hot beverages. My husband preps the coffee pot the night before as well. Our coffee maker has a built-in bean grinder that grinds the beans just before brewing. It is hands down my favourite coffee, and it is an excellent motivator to get going for the day. At night, I always settle with some herbal tea and a good book, getting myself nice and relaxed before heading up to bed at night. Truly, life’s little rituals really do make us feel rich.
How good is good coffee at motivating you to start the day! I feel the same. It's sometimes (often) the only thing that nudges me out of bed in the morning 😆 And I'm with you - if we take a second to notice them, I reckon these tiny little moments bring about contentment more than anything 'big' ever could. 💚
I have never really grown out of checking on the kids to make sure they are breathing before my husband and I go to bed. Just me? I'm pretty sure every parent of a baby does this but maybe not for as long as this? Anyway my kids are now 9, 7 and 4 and even though I'm no longer worried they have suddenly stopped breathing I still go in every night before I head to bed, rest my hand on their chest and feel them slowly and calmly breathing. I love it.
Not just you! My kids are 14 and 12 and I still do something similar. I actually love it. Even though they're growing into their own, and would probably be a bit mortified about it all, I can still keep that sense of nurturing that took me so long to grow into. 💚
I still do this for our 5 year old, sometimes for the 1 year old (other times I just check her on the monitor because I'm afraid she'll wake up after a difficult put down). I also find our cat and bring her to our room, she has a habit of getting locked in places.
I do this for my husband too! He is a snorer, so if I wake in the night and he is quiet, I rest my hand on him just to make sure. And of course I do the same for my newborn!
My corgi loves to sleep in, and will only get out of her bed when she hears me take the first bite of my toast. She summons me to let her out of the bedroom with a scratch of a claw on the door, then stretches up against my leg before sharing my breakfast. Sometimes I do try to scoff as much toast as I can before answering the summons, but I do love our little morning ritual.
I'm just so happy you're here Brooke and that you've brought together this lovely little community. I've listened to the podcast for a long time and I save the longer podcasts to listen to when I'm walking but I love being able to tune into the substack and read/listen/engage over a cup of something warming. That's a lovely little ritual in itself now that I think about it.
I have a very warm and heavy pure wool cardigan from Cornwall, England, that still smells faintly of sheep. Putting it on makes me so happy, it means the weather is finally cold enough (I love winter), it feels like I'm being held in a warm hug, and the smell reminds me of home.
I never really thought of these as rituals thank you for reminding me of the simple things that bring peace and delight. A pot of tea with my breakfast of porridge in the winter and muesli in the summer. Preparing hot water bottle just before bedtime.
I've been lighting a candle in my office at work a lot in the last year. It's a little bit of cozy and I can't enjoy candles at home because I have two cats who don't know how to behave on countertops.
😆 sounds like candles in the office is a much safer option. Plus I love the idea of bringing that special kind of coziness to your workplace. (I *really* need to get some candles!)
Getting up before my partner, making tea, sitting in my recliner with the dogs, writing in my journal, enjoying the quiet or putting on TV/ cable on the soundscape channel for soothing music. Ie we had our own home it have a porch & I'd be out there 😁
Oh I'm a huge fan of soundscapes too. Something about listening to rain or a river rushing is so soothing. It makes writing easier somehow too, I think? 💚
I have a lights out chat with my 5 year old each night. We have a standard set of questions we both answer, or we can talk about something else if she wants. One night she wanted to skip questions to ask how a microwave works, I did my best...
Our questions are:
What was the best part of your day?
What was the most difficult part?
What's something you could have done better and how? (I always like to make sure she's realistic, you can't write a word right if you don't know how to spell it)
What's something you did well or makes you feel proud?
What are you looking forward to about tomorrow?
I'm not big with playing, and felt a lot of guilt with that, but since we've started this is really helped both of us with a sense of connection.
“Sweet little bookends to the day” - this hit me. I’ve been neglecting creating a bookend to my day.. time to create one
Let us know where you land! It can be so nice to think about those tiny things that feel special and just for you. 💚
yes those little daily rituals make life sweeter. My fave little ritual when my son cant sleep is we sneak back downstairs to share chocolate coated digestives and a cup of tea together. My husband and other son are usually asleep so it's time just for us and he usually shares secrets he wouldn't tell me otherwise. I have similar ones with my other son who is an early bird. A lovely way to start and end the day...I do sometimes wish for time on my own but then I know I'll miss these gentle sweet moments.
"He usually shares secrets he wouldn't tell me otherwise" I LOVE this. I know it's about ritual, but I also love inviting those shared times that open us up for those interactions with people we love. I kind of see driving my kids to sport or after-school stuff similarly. Something about the quiet time that often opens up conversation. It feels special in a mundane kind if way. (Probably be even better with added chocolate biscuits though!!) 💚
Filling my hot water bottle before bed and sliding into a neatly made bed. Evening Me is always grateful to Morning Me for taking the time to make the bed, even when the morning is busy.
How great is a nicely made bed?! And thank you for reminding me of the joy of a hot water bottle too. I get insanely cold feet and never think to heat up a hot water bottle before bed. I know what I'm doing tonight! 💚
What delighted me in the comments in the chat was the number of times that a cup or pot of tea featured! A cuppa is a sacrosanct bookend to the beginning of my day and when I think about it, reading a chapter or two before sleep invariably bookends the other. The power of little actions cannot be underestimated x
Yes, me too! I drink a sleepy herbal tea every night before bed, but all the comments about making a pot of tea have me intrigued to go a little deeper into the tea as ritual. And 100% agree with you on the power of little actions, Winsome. I reckon they're the big ones. x
My best friend, who lives in a different town, and I play wordle and quordle daily and share results with each other. Followed by a very quick catchup and sometimes not even that ... we have been doing that for almost 15 months now I think. The day one of us misses it, surely we can expect the other to send a concerned text or call before noontime 😃
This made me smile Kamala - I love it. The play, the check in, the noon text. It's just such a lovely way of tending to each other. 💚
We open the curtains and say ‘good morning new day’ - it helps to set the day off to a ‘good’ start no matter what the weather is or what it might have in store for us. It’s always an extra bonus if we can see the cows on the paddocks opposite us 🥰 Rituals of self care for myself are harder to include consistently with a 2.5yo and 3m old, but this one is easy and my daughter loves it too 🌈
I love this so much. Just a sparkle of optimism to start the day - who knows what a difference that might be making. And what you're role modelling to your kids. Oh my heart! So beautiful.
Also, if it helps, I hear you on the self-care stuff being tough when your kids are that age. I remember it well. Sometimes all I could do was treat a very mundane household task like a moment of mindfulness. Hanging out the clothes turned into a five-senses scan, chopping veggies was a minute to really feel what was happening in my body... that kind of thing. My psychiatrist suggested it, and I scoffed, but it was genuinely super helpful. 💚
100% 😁 you’re so right!
I very much relate to book-ending the start and end of the day with delicious hot beverages. My husband preps the coffee pot the night before as well. Our coffee maker has a built-in bean grinder that grinds the beans just before brewing. It is hands down my favourite coffee, and it is an excellent motivator to get going for the day. At night, I always settle with some herbal tea and a good book, getting myself nice and relaxed before heading up to bed at night. Truly, life’s little rituals really do make us feel rich.
How good is good coffee at motivating you to start the day! I feel the same. It's sometimes (often) the only thing that nudges me out of bed in the morning 😆 And I'm with you - if we take a second to notice them, I reckon these tiny little moments bring about contentment more than anything 'big' ever could. 💚
I have never really grown out of checking on the kids to make sure they are breathing before my husband and I go to bed. Just me? I'm pretty sure every parent of a baby does this but maybe not for as long as this? Anyway my kids are now 9, 7 and 4 and even though I'm no longer worried they have suddenly stopped breathing I still go in every night before I head to bed, rest my hand on their chest and feel them slowly and calmly breathing. I love it.
Not just you! My kids are 14 and 12 and I still do something similar. I actually love it. Even though they're growing into their own, and would probably be a bit mortified about it all, I can still keep that sense of nurturing that took me so long to grow into. 💚
I still do this for our 5 year old, sometimes for the 1 year old (other times I just check her on the monitor because I'm afraid she'll wake up after a difficult put down). I also find our cat and bring her to our room, she has a habit of getting locked in places.
I do this for my husband too! He is a snorer, so if I wake in the night and he is quiet, I rest my hand on him just to make sure. And of course I do the same for my newborn!
My corgi loves to sleep in, and will only get out of her bed when she hears me take the first bite of my toast. She summons me to let her out of the bedroom with a scratch of a claw on the door, then stretches up against my leg before sharing my breakfast. Sometimes I do try to scoff as much toast as I can before answering the summons, but I do love our little morning ritual.
Oh I love that! We've all got rituals (even our animal friends.) My dog stands under me when I stretch, knowing he'll get head pats. 💚
I'm just so happy you're here Brooke and that you've brought together this lovely little community. I've listened to the podcast for a long time and I save the longer podcasts to listen to when I'm walking but I love being able to tune into the substack and read/listen/engage over a cup of something warming. That's a lovely little ritual in itself now that I think about it.
I have a very warm and heavy pure wool cardigan from Cornwall, England, that still smells faintly of sheep. Putting it on makes me so happy, it means the weather is finally cold enough (I love winter), it feels like I'm being held in a warm hug, and the smell reminds me of home.
This made ME feel like I was being hugged Susan. How special!! 💚
I never really thought of these as rituals thank you for reminding me of the simple things that bring peace and delight. A pot of tea with my breakfast of porridge in the winter and muesli in the summer. Preparing hot water bottle just before bedtime.
You're so welcome Christine! And thank you for the reminder about hot water bottles. I'm 100% doing this tonight 💚
I've been lighting a candle in my office at work a lot in the last year. It's a little bit of cozy and I can't enjoy candles at home because I have two cats who don't know how to behave on countertops.
😆 sounds like candles in the office is a much safer option. Plus I love the idea of bringing that special kind of coziness to your workplace. (I *really* need to get some candles!)
Getting up before my partner, making tea, sitting in my recliner with the dogs, writing in my journal, enjoying the quiet or putting on TV/ cable on the soundscape channel for soothing music. Ie we had our own home it have a porch & I'd be out there 😁
Oh I'm a huge fan of soundscapes too. Something about listening to rain or a river rushing is so soothing. It makes writing easier somehow too, I think? 💚
I have a lights out chat with my 5 year old each night. We have a standard set of questions we both answer, or we can talk about something else if she wants. One night she wanted to skip questions to ask how a microwave works, I did my best...
Our questions are:
What was the best part of your day?
What was the most difficult part?
What's something you could have done better and how? (I always like to make sure she's realistic, you can't write a word right if you don't know how to spell it)
What's something you did well or makes you feel proud?
What are you looking forward to about tomorrow?
I'm not big with playing, and felt a lot of guilt with that, but since we've started this is really helped both of us with a sense of connection.
A spritz or two of a lovely perfume on my neck before heading off to work.