Journal | October 2019

Welcome to my October journal. Each month I gather my musings and the stories from the month to document our life. For me this journal forms a way of creating my own regular gratitude practice. Journaling can be achievable in small snippets, you don’t need to write long prose to remember your time. I choose to document our memories by taking photos that capture the moments during the month and writing short notes about the time we’ve had. Some months I capture more as thoughts, and other months more photos than notes, there are no rules to journaling. I use it as a way to create space to remember some of the moments of the month.

The month of October has passed so quickly. There really is something so special about October and the magic of Autumn that starts to impact on me and my thought process. Here are my memories of October…

…We started the month of October on holiday in Portugal. It was our first holiday abroad together as a family of three. A lot of planning went into the trip and it was worth it when we arrived and had everything we needed. We had a relaxing time by the pools, enjoyed the warm weather and different surroundings. Chloe decided a week before the holiday to start crawling so Chloe had fun exploring the villa.

…We celebrated our three year wedding anniversary this month. Sometimes I pinch myself and can’t quite believe what has changed since that day. Two additions to our family, Juno our Jack Russell and Chloe our daughter and I changed my job too.

…My word for next year arrived. It linked to something that we were preparing for Chloe’s naming day and something that had been present in the background since our holiday to Portugal. I’m going to mull on my word until the new year and see if if still feels good.

…We have had a month of planning and preparing for Chloe’s Naming Day. We have been spending time thinking about the readings and poems that we want to have as part of the day and writing our parental promises for Chloe. I’ve been creating invitations and confirming food arrangements for the day. I’m really looking forward to celebrating Chloe and seeing our friends and family.

…We celebrated Chloe’s first birthday. Despite being unwell on her birthday Chloe seemed to have a fun day. We had lunch with our families and enjoyed lighting the candles on Chloe’s homemade Victoria sponge cake. A birthday now feels like it has taken on a new meaning, for me it is a reminder of the day she arrived. We took a photo at exactly Chloe’s birth time. We were all piled in the bed together and Chloe was very happy. I’d love to make this a thing that we do for each of her birthdays.

…There are gentle things changing in our home this month as the season changes. We’ve seen the shift of coats and gloves into spaces where they can be easily accessed, shoes are switched around, a few different blankets added into our lounge and clothes from our holiday washed, folded and stored away for next year.

…I was really lucky this month to go to a wonderful retreat in Wales hosted by Eleanor from Creative Countryside. It was a special trip for me, my first time away from Chloe for two nights and space to connect with others passionate about the seasons. The weekend was shaped by the theme of embracing the darkness. we had a talk about the night sky from Tiffany Francis Baker, a morning meditation, a drawing class, the Ayurvedic workshop and lunch, and forest bathing and intention setting. I felt very lucky to be part of the weekend and meet some amazing and inspiring people all passionate about the seasons.

…By the end of the month we have bought a hat, gloves and a snow suit for Chloe as the weather has drastically changed, what a contrast from the start of the month. October still remains as one of my favourite months.