OK, who else has serious back to school vibes this week? Even though I haven’t been in education for… a very long time, I still feel its energy when August folds into September. At the weekend I didn’t have any plans for Sunday and found myself getting very restless.
I wanted to throw everything in my wardrobe away and start again. I wanted to dye my hair dark and start wearing more lipstick. I wanted to sign up to every damn course that came through my inbox (there are so many good courses launching this month!).
While my mind was buzzing with this energy, my body was laid up on the sofa.
I know I’m in need of a break and I know financially, I need to buy a holiday much more than I need to buy the many courses I can’t stop looking at.
So I’m trying to quell this energy a little. I’m still making plans to dye my hair a shade darker… I signed up to Jen Carrington’s write the damn thing group (which is free - hurrah!) and I will be clearing out my wardrobe soon.
When looking for a writing prompt on Instagram this month, I was looking for something autumnal to fit my mood and this, from Genevieve jumped out at me.
I had the pleasure of meeting Genevieve at a workshop earlier this year and am so drawn to both her aesthetic and her warm character. Can’t wait to see what fictitious world arises from this picture…
Renewed
When she woke, she felt like she had slept for a hundred years. Her eyes were heavy with happiness from the rest they had received. The sunlight was golden, more golden than usual, and pouring through her curtains.
Checking her weather app, she decided it was officially time to put her beloved boots and jumper back on after a summer of thin tops and sandals that rubbed her feet.
The thick woven sleeves felt alien, yet comforting, while her feet slid into the boots like a reunion of old friends.
Her only plans for today were to walk outside. Her eyes had been glued to screens for too long recently and her lungs longed for fresh air. Stepping out the door, the breeze felt sharp and cool - it was nice. The clouds were fluffy and light, and though the sun had lost its strength, it still warmed her face.
She walked down her street and thought about her summer. The highs, the lows, the everything in-betweens. She welcomed the new season, a chance to start from fresh.
She felt her mind jostling with ideas. New hobbies, new projects, new clothes - she wanted it all, immediately. Nature on the other hand, was having different ideas. Husks and twigs lined her path, with everything becoming a sombre tone of brown. Some trees had already started turning, performing their last show before winter stripped them bear.
Everything around her was slowing down, cooling down, burrowing in for comfort, when she wanted nothing less.
Her energy was running at break-neck speed as she picked up and twirled foliage in her hands. She thought about the pictures she could take with these and how she could portray the turning season in a simple shot.
Pulling out her notebook (she always carried a notebook) she settled herself on a bench to expel some of this energy onto the page. “If I make plans, the rest will follow” she tells herself.
Walking back to her home, her legs began to groan beneath her. Her body was mid-argument with her mind when she noticed. She walked through the door and removed the boots that had earlier given her such joy. She traded her jeans for pajama bottoms and settled on the sofa beside her cat.
The twigs she collected earlier were placed gently on the coffee table, with a promise that she would return to them with her camera in just a little while.
For now, she had to agree with her body and allow herself a short rest.
How are you feeling about September coming around - are you full of energy or in need of a big lie down? As you can probably tell, I’m somewhere in the middle.
If me and Dan can get a little escape/rest in soon, I think I’ll be ready to tackle autumn and all that energy.
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