Hi there,
How did October 2024 treat you?
After a flare up of back pain last month, I spent October trying to take extra good care of myself, with lots of yoga, journalling, gentle walks, breathwork, healthcare appointments and reading about stress and nervous system regulation.
Returning from the September school holidays, we also dove back into homeschooling, much to the disappointment of my young one Cloud. Whilst out on a walk one day, I asked Cloud what their favourite thing about homeschooling was. Without hesitation, they responded, “The HOME part.”
Predicting what was coming next, I asked anyway, “And your least favourite part?”
Without missing a beat, they said, “The SCHOOLING part.”
Despite this, Term 4 of Year 5 has been going well for us so far.
In addition to the above, I thought I would write at the end of the month, as always, to share some of the little things that have brought me joy or moved me or helped me in some way, and invite you to respond and let me know the highlights of your month too. Who knows, we might inspire each other about new ways we can add a little joy or ease to our lives in the process.
So let's dive in...
๐ The kindness of strangers
I have a wonderful support worker who has been busy taking Cloud and I to appointments this past month. One day, she was dropping us home, as we watched grey clouds following behind us. She was hoping to get everyone home safely before the storm came.
As she took off at the traffic lights, a stranger in the neighbouring lane wound down his window, trying to get her attention, to let her know one of her tyres looked flat. Sure enough, she pulled over to check and he was right. A fuel station was within sight, so she drove a little further to pull in safely and check out the situation more thoroughly.
She was worried we were all going to get stuck in the storm while we waited for roadside assistance to come. Me with my back issue, not owning a car myself anymore, and having not changed a tyre in about 20 years, was not much help.
But then the guy who had warned her about the tyre in the first place pulled up and asked if she needed help. He changed the tyre (which had picked up a screw), wouldn’t take the cash she offered as thanks, and through his act of kindness made our day. As we drove off toward home, the rain suddenly came down heavy, and oh my, we were relieved to be dry and to be so quickly back on our way home.
The situation also made me wonder whether there was such thing as roadside assistance for e-bikes, because that’s how I mostly get around these days. I always carry a spare tube, pump, repair kit, tools and first aid kit but wondered if it would be wise to have e-bike roadside assistance as a backup too. Turns out there is such thing and I’ve since signed up! So the helpful stranger has unknowingly potentially helped me get support for a future breakdown of a different sort too. ๐คฃ
Very grateful to this person and their act of kindness that day. What a legend! ⭐️
๐ก Tiny Home Expo
Since becoming a single parent, I have become increasingly interested in the option of tiny living. I've been devouring Youtube videos on this topic, including the Living Big in a Tiny House channel. I've been curious about different designs and how we would go as people living, working and schooling from home. My main hesitation, however, has been around how to live in a tiny home legally within council regulations and finding land to park it on that is safe and ideal for our personal circumstances.
In an effort to follow this curiosity and to be open to the possibility, I was excited to attend the Tiny Home Expo in Brisbane this month. I was also extremely nervous about how I would go with the heat, crowds, and potential sensory overwhelm at the expo. Luckily for me, a support worker came with me, which helped make sure I actually walked through the homes I was interested in, rather than do a quick lap of the expo and flee out the exit almost immediately. It also meant I got to listen to Briony from Park My Tiny House and learn more about the options when it comes to finding land.
Walking through the homes helped me get a better idea of what we would need in a Tiny Home if I were to pursue this option. For example, with my bad back, a bedroom loft that I couldn't stand in wouldn't be an ideal option. For some of the homes, the narrow staircases without railings would be a hazard for our clumsy nature, leading to a certain future fall during an evening loo break. I left the expo having a clearer idea of what we would need or not need should I pursue this option further in the future.
I was so focused on regulating my nervous system whilst navigating the expo that I forgot to take pictures, but did take the above selfie snap while I waited to be picked up by my support worker. In the picture, I'm also wearing a new hat I got this month as a gift from my friend Amanda Rootsey. Mandy knows me well, I love a cap, and I especially love a cap connected to a mission or purpose. As someone who had an eating disorder as a young adult, I was thrilled to learn about the work Worth Beyond is doing with The Grey Space.
Back to tiny living, have you ever considered a tiny house? Do you know anyone who has? If you're comfortable sharing, I'd love to hear all about it!
๐ Books, Books, Books
I've was relieved to have found my reading groove again after having not had the capacity to read as much this year. I have been excited to have picked up so many amazing books in October and have been sharing these on my blog, Instagram and TikTok.
I shared for example a weekend library haul (find on the blog, Instagram carousal or reel, or TikTok) and a Halloween library haul (find on the blog, Instagram carousal or reel, or TikTok), as well as other one-off books I've been reading too. If you're looking for a new book to read, you might like to check these out.
If you have the time, I'd love if you'd share what you're reading and enjoying right now too!
๐ฑSocial Media
I made an effort to show up each day on Instagram this month, with the assistance of an online community called the Content Creators Club with Marketing By Shelby (note: this is an affiliate link so if you use it to join the club, I might get a commission). It was nice to feel inspired to post and engage with folks in the online world again.
Once I found my groove with Instagram, I opened TikTok for the first time in months as well. I was pleasantly surprised to see a notification that led me to Dr Anita Heiss' channel where she had a video talking about my book, You Will Find Your Way.
This inspired me to start using and posting on TikTok more as well, which has been fun.
Are you on either of these platforms? Pop your handle below if you feel comfortable doing so and perhaps we can follow each other and connect over there as well. ๐
๐ Poetry
I was also inspired to share more of my poetry on social media this month, some of which is featured in You Will Find Your Way, and some of which was unpublished and fresh from my journal.
I also wrote a short blog post and social media post called "Not A Real Poet" about once of the blocks I previously had about publishing my poetry and felt myself feel more confident sharing my work online.
I think this really helped with my online marketing this month, as I created customised bookmarks to use as business cards and to put in books for street libraries, shared more reviews of You Will Find Your Way, did the first introduction post in months, and posted more posts about my book in general.
I also felt inspired to continue working on my next poetry book, which will be nature inspired. Last month, I wasn't loving the poetry I was writing so put it down to focus on a middle grade fiction that I'm also writing right now. So it was lovely to feel re-motivated to write poetry again. I'm not going to rush myself with this one, but will let you know more as soon as I'm ready to share!
๐ชฃ Q4 Bucket List
My personal list is to:
๐ก Go to Tiny Home Expo (YAY! Can tick this one off as done already!)
๐ฉ๐ซ Finish the homeschool year feeling proud about how we went
๐ฅพ Go on more hikes and local adventures
๐งก Actually take a holiday break to rest and read
My work list is to:
๐ Drop You Will Find Your Way into some local street libraries
๐ Have a You Will Find Your Way book discount
๐ง Release the audio book version of You Will Find Your Way
๐ Update my book publication plan to be a little more realistic for 2025.
Is there anything that you were hoping to do between now and the end of year?
Finally, I know I asked you a lot of questions in this blog post! If you feel called to respond to any of them, I would love that. But if not, that's okay too. I'm so grateful that you are here.
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