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GROWnings
Jess: For a lot of parents, kids are back at school or the start of term is just around the corner. It's a particularly odd one having had the kids at home or in different circumstances this year. How are you feeling? Some of you might be wondering what you’ll do with yourselves as you’ve got into a rhythm now with kids at home. Others will be excited for a bit of time to yourselves. Perhaps you’ve got a new project in mind or are thinking of embarking on a new skill? Maybe you’re anxious about how much time you’ll now have alone? There’ll be some parents with new jobs waiting, others on the hunt for employment. Some may be dreading going back to work with a ‘new normal’ ahead of them.
Let’s give it up to fellow parents. You are heroes! Juggling all sorts of chores, work, child care and wearing many hats; parent, taxi driver, sports coach, partner, chef, house-keeper, employee etc (the list goes on!).
As well as this balancing act with the ‘day to day’ stuff, there’s also the ‘big life’ stuff to contend with; being sustainable, eco-friendly, compassionate, charitable, sociable and living a meaningful existence. For even the most organised and efficient among us, this is a challenge. Don’t fear though, you don’t have to have super skills (although you do already!). A very wise woman said to me this week: “it’s just a matter of doing one thing at a time!” She was right. The me in my twenties would not have thought that was enough. Now, I see that each step is a change for the better and collectively these steps contribute to change for the better on a bigger scale. Maybe we can’t all lobby the government or run huge campaigns in our spare time.
However, we can change:
our shopping habits (even if only substituting or avoiding one less eco-friendly thing, buying less or secondhand or passing on unwanted items),
our mindsets (proactively choose to be more positive by selecting encouraging words instead of critical ones)
our actions ( we can get fitter, eat better or phone that friend to see how they are)
The way we view self-care (take ten minutes a day to do yoga, speak to someone about your worries, allow yourself time out if you need it)
These changes are just as important. Don’t be afraid! We must take a step forward, even if only a tiny one. Just one step at a time. Each step will pave the way to a positive journey ahead. Good luck! We look forward to hearing all about it.
Check out our website and our September GROWbox (either in digital form - GROWbox Global, or as a subscription box). To celebrate the bank holiday weekend and the start of the academic year, we offer you a discount code: LAUNCH09 to get 10% off any GROWbox product. https://www.farleigh.org.uk/growbox.
GROWnings is a weekly blog conversation by "GROW together!" to reflect our values and behaviours and encouraging open conversation on topical issues.
‘GROW Together!’ is an educational resources and subscription box company to provide fun, personalised learning resources enabling engagement between parents/carers and their children. The activities focus on getting in touch with nature and encouraging a desire to protect it, promoting better mental and physical wellbeing, allowing space for creativity and connectivity. Find out more on our website, www.farleigh.org.uk/growbox, Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/GROWboxDevon/ and on our Instagram Feed https://www.instagram.com/we.are.growbox/.