This pregnancy forced stillness into my life. With that I picked up some slow hobbies and clung to those while I couldn’t do all the other things I like to do.
My two boys, 5 & 3, just came inside because they had pulled a tiny mint plant and brought it to me. They know me so well. After that we had a very lengthy discussion about the two spider they saw on the post of the deck and I’m a blueberry bush, and whether or not they were poisonous. I had no idea because I don’t know spiders.
While they were exploring with a random treasure map, I was heating up some beans and steak for dinner, trying to put my feet up and rest in my 30 weeks pregnant state. Needless to say, they always have something going on they need to tell me about, and I’ve always got something around our home that needs tending to. I’ve taken up some specific hobbies, letting a few others go, while pregnant to keep with the slower paced lifestyle I’ve cultivated over the years of my motherhood.
My current slow(er) hobbies
Quilting- This is a first for me. I’ve wanted to quilt for a few years now and have a lot of experience sewing and patchwork, mending, etc. So I finally began in the beginning of my pregnancy when my sister had her third baby. I made a tiny simple nine patch quilt and sent it to her as a special keepsake. I’ve been there for my sister’s other two children so it was tough for me to not be there for this one. I’ve also began my own personal baby blanket for this baby growing in me. I’m very excited about it because it gets to be feminine and whimsical and vintage, lots of florals in the future!
The very slow and meditative process of quilting keeps my mind focused while also giving something simple to concentrate on. There’s so much going on in our brains when we re pregnant, especially toward the end. I don’t want to spin out because there’s so much left in the air in my life right now. It’s curbing my anxiety and keeping my thoughts on the tiny miracle rainbow baby as people call it.
Outdoor time
Seed saving- There are many, many wonderful plants we have been graced with in this rental. Lots of edibles that were already here when we moved in such as cherries, mint, potatoes, asparagus, blueberries, chives, even a very mature elderberry trees! Since we’re moving and plan to do a community garden when we go, I want to have a wide variety of seeds to plant. Especially because I’m not sure what all we can plant in Alaska! The boys LOVE to save seeds and sort the out of the pods and stems. It’s a fantastic fine motor skill for them that takes up a good chunk of time. They get help and seeds are saved for future food to grow! Everyone wins!
Harvesting/foraging my backyard – As I mentioned above our rental had a surprising plethora of edible plants already very mature in its midst! Aside from the seed saving, harvesting comes before all that fun of course. We were able to gather a few pounds of Rainer cherries, lots of elder Berry for syrup and gummies, asparagus and potatoes!
That’s been a great joy I’ve recently discovered since our time in Idaho. The slow hobbies of a bountiful harvest. In all its glory. It takes a lot of labor, but it’s one of love that I truly find rewarding. The kids enjoy it too. But for me it’s thrilling to reap what you sow, then think of ways to use them in our kitchen. Some are simpler than others of course but elderberry was one I was very new to. I hadn’t even tried elderberry anything before. It was a great gift that we arrived just in time for.
More slow hobbies from my pregnant time
Meal prepping- Maybe most people find this daunting, which it certainly can be. There was a lot of planning in advance and I simply wrote down as many of the things that we ate in a regular week as, well as the random additions that just make sense to have on hand. I hope to make an entire post on that to help out other mamas who eat like we do, which is nourishing traditions style.
I enjoyed seeing our small deep freezer get fuller and fuller. It helped to ease that nesting anxiety of ‘oh my gosh we’re not ready at all’ which I felt like so often (and still do at 37 weeks!) Making extra sourdough bread, doubling recipes to freeze and put away made me feel so comforted, at ease may be a better way to put it. Its not truly one of my ‘slow’ hobbies, but filling the freezer did take up some time.
Puzzles- My three year old is ADDICTED to puzzles. I’m not joking or being hyperbolic. He will get out puzzle after puzzle until the dining room table is full, then he moves over to the desk and starts to do them there. Then no one is allowed to clean them up for the day because he gets upset, and why shouldn’t he, because he’s just worked so hard to accomplish all that! Most of them he can do on his own, but some of the larger ones he accepts help on. He usually doesn’t let me even do one piece! Occasionally I’d do my own large scale puzzle and the boys would help, but when my brain stopped working I stuck with the smaller ones. Much easier and made me feel not so pregnant.
Faith-filled slow hobbies
Bible study- I have dove into my Bible study on a new level this year. It’s been a very trying year. Between pregnancy, moving, distant family problems beyond my control, lack of socializing, everything has seemed very…hard. Harder than it should be at least.
I felt as though I had absolutely nothing to cling to. Not even my own family. But I was able to cling to God, and Jesus. It’s made me braver in my conviction which I’ve kept to myself the last few years. I feel more unafraid to share my relationship with Jesus more openly. In doing so, I’ve quieted a lot of my life this last year. No blogging, no podcasts, no books really. I’ve replaced it with studying the Bible and attempting to weave it into our (un)homeschooling. It’s kept me centered, focused, and faithful that all will be well.
Journaling – Always having this in my arsenal is the best for me. Writing and thought dumping, as I call it, is cathartic and clearing. It helps me get out any anxiety or worry, judgement free and without feeling like I’m burdening someone else with my complaints and issues. It’s something that is easy, it’s free, it doesn’t take up time and helps to keep my days from blurring too badly. I don’t need prompts or fancy tools. No phone required or anything, just a pencil and paper and the willingness to clear my head.
Quiet prayer time- I do this in the early morning while I’m nursing before the kids come jump on top of their dad and fight for the spot next to me. It’s a very very simple and minimal ritual I’ve added to my day that just gives me that connection of God that has been invaluable this year. We do this at night too with the kids and have helped my oldest to memorize the Lords Prayer and Hail Mary, plus the tiny kids prayers we learned growing up.
What I’d like to start up again
- Walking every day
- Waking up before the children to have my own morning time
- Doing community: efforts, garden, church service work, some kind of nature school co op.
Slow living isn’t necessarily about doing less, it’s about being more intentional with what you do.
This last year of being pregnant, and very slow, very silent in my life has fueled a small flame in my heart.
I’m feeling renewed and charged up about the year to come. Without expectation, without major plans, just ideas and a creative energy that I will ride out like a surfer in a tsunami.
The inner artist in me is coming back to the surface for the first time in years. I can’t wait to share it.
In gratitude,
Tayler
