There comes a day when each of us decides to put fears and excuses aside. A day when we decide to listen to our heart – and follow it. And a day when we decide to take those first small steps towards making our wildest dreams come true.
Let today be that day for you.
The Great Diary Project – V&A Museum of Childhood
Dolls, daydreams and diaries… we all remember what it was like to be little. And this summer the Museum of Childhood in London is celebrating all those things and more with an inspiring showcase of story-themed exhibitions and displays designed to take us on a trip down memory lane.
One of the many highlights is ‘The Great Diary Project’ which features diaries from 1813 to 1996 and focuses on the lives of children at particular moments in history. From tales of bedbugs during the Napoleonic Wars to coded accounts of wild teenage behaviour during the Blitz, it’s a fascinating insight into how attitudes have changed over time and how peoples’ unique voices can be captured so beautifully in this very private kind of writing.
Ever since Sienna’s arrival six months ago we have been overwhelmed by how many wonderful messages of congratulations we’ve received. Thank you.
Recently though, something has been cropping up in conversation that has really struck a chord with me. When people ask how old she is I answer accordingly, and then they’ll say: ‘So are you off work today?’ When I explain that both my wife and I work from home the response is always the same… ‘Oooh, you’re so lucky’.
I thought very little about this the first few times it happened. In fact I’d just smile and say ‘Yes’. However, after hearing the same response well over a dozen times now, I want to talk about this, because really there is little or no luck involved in it at all.
Being at home with my daughter is a choice, enabled by the way we designed how we wanted to work when she came along. A year ago I made a conscious decision to leave a ‘secure’ yet underwhelming career as a Civil Engineer to start a new chapter in my life. Beth and I both made sacrifices to create this set up. It has taken a lot of hard work, and we have taken many risks, to make it possible.
Back when we first got engaged we sat down together and discussed what would make us happy in the coming years. At that point children were just hypothetical, but even so we knew that we’d want to play a major part of their lives from the very beginning – both of us, not just their mother. Back then, I wasn’t enjoying my career and I was also aware that being tied to much longer hours than a 9-to-5 job, with a long commute on top, would steal a big chunk of my time with any children we might have. Not long after a decision was made. I would hand my notice in and start working with DWYL.
Even though I hadn’t been enjoying my career for some time it was still a big decision to make. We would lose my salary and we would be more dependent upon DWYL offering family security. We were just about to get married too, and I knew that if a baby came along, then more than ever, we’d be living in each other’s pockets. Of course we had no idea how it would work out, we just hoped that our time in Japan living in a postage stamp of an apartment would stand us in good stead.
And of course for Beth, once we were working together, her company stopped being about just creating a business, and started being about creating our future.
Even though it was a little risky I knew the greater risk was spending time doing something I didn’t love whilst missing out on experiencing something transient – the early years of a precious child. And however tough it was, that decision is vindicated every time I watch Sienna make a new and exciting discovery – not on a video my wife has emailed to me, but with my own eyes, because I am there. And I am there to see her face light up with wonder because of a series of conscious decisions, sometimes difficult choices, sacrifices and planning. We haven’t got it all figured out yet – like anyone else spinning plates we get tired, of course we do. But we are getting there, and it is not because of luck.
The choice to live and work this way has also been very interesting for Beth. Anyone who works for themselves when they have their first child will know that there is an inevitable impact on your productivity. (Beth would say that is an understatement…) At the same time you get a fair bit of notice that a baby is on the way, so we did what we could to plan for it (and we’re grateful to our wonderful collaborators for their understanding and support as we did that). The reality has probably been even tougher than we imagined, but it has worth every single moment.
A good friend of mine always said there was no such thing as luck. It is when opportunity meets preparation. I tend to agree. Taking the time to design the life you want is always going to improve your chances of things actually working out the way you want them to.
How would you like your life to look? What opportunities can you seize and how can you prepare yourself for them today?
Mr K
I have fast discovered that when you have a small child, your days are a series of firsts – first smile, first giggle, first taste of solid food etc. Yesterday’s first was first time on a swing. Looking at the photos I realised that they show the whole spectrum of emotions we often feel when trying something new – from trepidation to curiosity, from anticipation to elation. In the case of the swing that was all in the space of 5 seconds for my little one. I’m glad to say it ended in a lot of smiling.
Next time I try something new – which for us will be our first longhaul flight with a baby next week – I am going to keep these images in mind and focus on the last one. When I’m in the nervous stage, the unsure stage, the panicky stage, I’m going to think ahead to the elated stage, when we are driving up the East Coast with our little traveller in tow, and take that trip.
How about you? Can you picture your emotions when going through something new or difficult, to get to somewhere you want to be, and focus on the most triumphant visual? It doesn’t mean the other snapshots won’t be there to be captured along the way, but picturing the ‘after’ version might be all the motivator you need.
Have a lovely week
Beth and team
On my happy list – candy coloured beach huts
So June is here and Summer is on its way. As the days get longer and the evenings warmer, so much to be thankful for this month.
Each month we share a free downloadable ‘Happy List’ as a place for you to capture the things – small and big – that have made you happy and inspired you each day. Get yours here.
Wishing you a very happy June
Beth
A couple of days ago I was pushing my baby’s pram round a nearby park in the sunshine when we came across a couple of buskers. They were pretty good, and they smiled a lot. And I gave them a five pound note. That is TEN times what I normally give buskers, but they weren’t ten times as good as any others.
So why did they get the note not a coin? Because of this:
They sold me on their romantic dream to “get to America”. I could see them in a convertible racing along Route 66. I could imagine them strumming a tune in Central Park. I took the journey with them in my head, and I wanted to help them.
If they hadn’t told me what their dream was I wouldn’t have known how to help. It took guts to stand up in the park, sing and declare their dreams, but they did it, rallied me and others to help them and, with every pound that dropped into their guitar case, they got a step closer to their plan.
Sharing your dreams can be scary. It can make you feel vulnerable and afraid. But if you share them with the right people, you might just get more help and support than you could have hoped for. And then maybe those dreams will actually come true…
Do it. Share your dreams with someone you trust today.
Beth and Paul
A few years ago Mr K and I went on holiday to Thailand. It was our first overseas trip together, and we were lying on a beach on Ko Phi Phi for the third day in a row. We were a bit bored sunbathing, and it wasn’t very sunny anyway, so when Mr K said “What shall we do today” I said “Let’s go to Hong Kong!”
I remember him laughing out loud and saying “I thought you might say ‘Let’s get a massage’, or ‘Let’s go for a swim’, not ‘Let’s get on a plane and go to another country’…” But why not? We were half way round the world anyway, and I thought it would be fun to see the place where Mr K spent much of his childhood. So we went to an internet café, booked the plane for the next day and went. We had a brilliant time.
To me this was kind of normal – it’s just the way I do things. But over the years I have come to understand that this isn’t necessarily ‘normal’ at all… I like doing random things, taking myself and others by surprise and not knowing what the outcome is going to be, but I have come to discover that not everyone does. I think this openness to the unknown is really helpful when it comes to strengthening your capacity for risk taking, so I’d love to encourage you to try it now and again if you don’t normally do ‘random’ things.
In one of the Do What You Love classes a couple of years back I challenged the participants to do something random, and one of them went up to a sad looking old guy in Walmart and gave him a hug,just because. It turns out the man had lost his wife the month before, and it was “the nicest thing that had ever randomly happened to him”. Love that.
Why don’t you do something random today? Surprise someone. Surprise yourself. Mix it up. Make your day more interesting…
We’d love to hear what you get up to! Feel free to share on Facebook or Twitter.
Beth and the team
At very long last here is the Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap round up and winner announcement. Please accept my most sincere apologies for the considerable delay. As a first time mum with a tiny baby and a business to run, I didn’t quite anticipate how much work would be involved this time round, and for that I apologise.
Thank you so much for your patience and understanding, and for participating in our biggest swap ever – hope you enjoyed it! Here is a snapshot of some of the many cards which crisscrossed the globe:
Here’s the postcard I created and sent off to South Africa:
You can see many of the postcards created in our special Facebook album here. If yours hasn’t been featured, please feel free to email it to [email protected] so we can add it. Thank you to our friends at Coats for supporting this swap.
We are excited to unveil the winner of the giveaway….
Congratulations! You will receive the full range of new Anchor Postcard Kits from Coats (a total of 20 postcards), a delicious package of 80 skeins of Anchor Stranded Cotton from Coats, a free place on the upcoming PaperLove online course (starts June 2) and a treasure box of stationery and other crafty delights in the PaperLove kit. We will be in touch directly with further details shortly.
For everyone else, as a token of our gratitude for your participation, and by way of apology that this is so late, we would like to offer you a large discount on the PaperLove ecourse which begins June 2. (If you liked the swap you’ll LOVE the course!) You can join this gorgeous five week online course for just £69 if you book via this link by Wednesday 14 May. Hope you will join us for a feast of creativity, with paper lovers just like you from all around the world!
Tomorrow I turn 37. I love birthdays, not just because it’s time to celebrate, but because it’s a good moment to take stock and think about how I want the next year to feel. Ahead of this birthday I have been thinking about this a fair bit, and have been wondering how different things would be if I changed what I prioritise.
Of course with a young family, their needs will naturally come first, and it goes without saying that I absolutely love spending time with Mr K and little Sienna. But after that, in the pockets of time and space left over, what should I put first?
The truth is I usually put work first. I love what I do and that is fine, but lately I have been working far too much, to the point that it has become my default thing to do in any spare moment. (Zen for Ten in April helped, but my to-do list is still far too long!)
So what to do? I have decided to try reframing things and choosing to put something else, not work, first. I have been asking myself questions like…
There are so many words I could put in the gap of ‘If you put [XXX] first?’ Tomorrow, on my birthday, I’m going to spend some time deciding which one of these to try on, to try out, and see how it goes.
How about you? What will you put first in the spare pockets of time you have this week?
Beth
PS If you want to put CREATIVITY first I’d really encourage you to join Bloom True – the online painting (& life) course from Flora Bowley which starts on May 12. It’s an amazing personal adventure, and the daily posts for the five weeks of class are the perfect way to help you put your creativity first, every day, until it becomes a habit! You can register here.
On my happy list today – a long walk and a hot coffee by the sea, baby girl beside me
Can you believe we are in May already? This is one of my absolute favourite months of the year. Apart from being my birthday month, it’s the month when so many flowers shrug off the last signs of winter and come into full bloom. So much to be thankful for this month.
Each month we share a free downloadable ‘Happy List’ as a place for you to capture the things – small and big – that have made you happy and inspired you each day. Get yours here.
Wishing you a very happy May
Beth