a new space

{jennifer funnell photography}

a year has passed since i've blogged. i figured, if it's been a year, perhaps i should start in a new space. i named this blog 'OH, LEVI' about a year ago and just let it sit until i was motivated enough to start up again (i figured it would happen...eventually).

we moved into our very first house, C took a job working weekends, L turned two and weaned from nursing in June, and i've been... stuck in the middle of it all? no, not stuck: i've been slightly overwhelmed with all the change. new commute, new daycare, new playground, etc. it sounds a little silly, but it feels as if i moved much further than i actually did. it's been about three and a half months in the new place, we finally painted the living room just last week.

i've written about it before, but motherhood (for me) is all about the art of learning to balance, compromise, and to avoid avoiding comparing myself to other 'perfect mothers'. blogs, instas, and Facebook make this very difficult as it feels the majority of what i see are snippets of a perfect life, child, career, etc. do you ever feel that way? "i'm not (fill-in-the-blank) enough" becomes "i'm not enough" and the spiral begins. here are some things i've been doing to manage some of these internal conflicts (do i sound like a social worker, or what?!):

1) watching all of the brene brown talks i can find on the world wide web. this on vulnerability. this on shame. this is also great. all three of them are worth watching. also, i started reading her newest book and it's really good so far.

2) connecting with a church/community. when we moved, we decided that we needed to find a new church since the commute to our previous one was just too much of a commute. we started going this summer and it has been a really positive thing for our family.

3) spending time alone. although i'm a visual person, words have been my thing for as long as i can remember. reading, journaling, quotes, etc. my goal is to read 1 book / month and so far, i've done that (or more) and it's awesome.

there's a long list of things that i still want to work on: fitness, health, etc. but that's for a later date. i'm excited to start writing and sharing again!

welcome to the new space!
P