Motherhood – Mad to Live

Writing Update – May

By: Zofia May 26, 2023May 26, 2023

Home in Aotearoa, Motherhood, WritingMotherhood, Reading, The Cure For Sleep, The Gap, WritingLeave a Comment

It’s been a pretty busy past month or so, and writing has been more of a challenge for me. We are currently on a visit back to the UK, so very much out of our regular routines, and of course the babba is a month older, and now very much constantly on the move (crawling and furniture walking), so I can no longer really write in moments of playtime. Nothing unanticipated there.

Little Joys

By: Zofia May 15, 2023

A Postcard From..., In the way of beauty, MotherhoodMay, Motherhood, Oxford, Spring, Walks1 Comment

A sunny morning walk along the canal, out toward Port Meadow, my baby nestled against me. Dappled waters. Cow parsley, horse chestnut and hedgerows dripping with may. Could not have dreamed of a more perfect welcome home.

Hunua Ranges (2)

By: Zofia April 30, 2023April 30, 2023

A Postcard From..., Adventures in AotearoaAlive, Auckland, Auckland Walks, Cossey-Massey Loop, Ergobaby Carrier, Hunua Ranges, Motherhood, NZ, WildLeave a Comment

The carpark was so full when we arrived in the Hunua Ranges this Easter weekend that we had to backtrack and park on the road. Unsurprising, given the strong sunshine and crisp autumn air, but off-putting. We decided to walk the Cossey-Massey loop, hoping that the majority of people would be taking the much shorter Hunua Falls track, and fortunately we were correct.

Motherhood Moments

By: Zofia April 23, 2023April 23, 2023

MotherhoodAuckland, Baby, Motherhood, Writing1 Comment

My baby lies asleep on my lap. He is ill for the first time, a tummy bug. Cradling his little exhausted body in my arms and stroking his head I just want to kiss him over and again, I love him so intensely. Soon I will be struck down too, although when I started writing this I was hopeful I might have escaped. I am not prepared for how violently it hits me, I feel I have been wrung out and bruised from the inside, and I am filled with amazement at how bravely my little one weathered it. Fortunately it passes through us both in 24h, and we are now recovered.

Little Joys

By: Zofia April 12, 2023April 14, 2023

In the way of beautyAlive, Autumn, Motherhood, NZ, Outdoors, Running1 Comment

From my Easter Sunday run with O.

Writing Update – April

By: Zofia April 2, 2023April 3, 2023

Home in AotearoaAuckland, Books, Motherhood, NZ, Reading, Writing1 Comment

At the end of December, when my baby was just three months and I was still spending more of the night awake than asleep, I made a list of three personal and professional things that I wanted to accomplish this year. One of them, as I mentioned in a recent post, was to develop a writing practice.

Mosquito Weather

By: Zofia February 19, 2023February 20, 2023

Home in AotearoaAuckland, Cyclone Gabrielle, Motherhood, NZ, YWA3 Comments

It’s Sunday morning and everything is strangely calm. The light is grey through the window, a grey we’ve accepted as the norm this summer. When I opened the curtains a few hours ago the garden was deadly still, a soft rain barely perceptible falling. The trees are stirring now, a gentle musical movement, and a fat speckled-bellied thrush is perched on our fence, lost in thought. Occasionally a rough gust shakes everything up, leaving leaves rustling and dancing in its wake.

Tiny Stargazer

By: Zofia January 2, 2023

Home in AotearoaAuckland, Fourth Trimester, Medicine, Motherhood, Spring, Summer, Writing3 Comments

I started writing this post towards the end of October, as I began to stir and emerge from the blur of the first few weeks. I remember turning the page of my calendar and realising with a physical shock that the month was almost over. I’d barely noticed it had begun.