I rinse the soap bubbles down the sink after supper and can’t help but look at the clock. My jaw drops a bit and I rejoice. It’s only 6:35! That means there’s over an hour and a half until bed. I tick off daily items on my mental to-do list:
Supper?
Check.
Homework?
Check.
Dishes?
Washed and put away.
Clothes laid out for tomorrow? Chickens fed? Guinea pig taken care of?
Check. Check. Check.
Does this happen every night? Absolutely not. Not even close. But I have noticed that since becoming a mom, it’s easier for me to stick to an efficient routine when it gets dark earlier.
I know most people lament about the shorter days and I agree with them, to an extent. It IS the pits waiting for my daughter’s bus in the darkness and I shudder at the thought of running into a skunk in our darkened chicken coop. But overall? I really like this time of year. It’s hard to ignore the beauty outside and the way day turns quickly to dusk makes it easier for me to get the kids to bed.
I’ve conditioned myself not to relax until my kids are asleep. I’m used to being needed in one way or another when they’re awake and it’s hard to settle into something I consider relaxing because I know I will get interrupted. I’m getting better at squeezing in the things I want to do as they get older but it’s still nighttime that I can truly relax. I can pour my energy into finishing my latest read or work a little on a sewing project. And during the winter months, when this chance for self-care happens earlier, it just makes me a happier mom.
But really, I enjoy the dark evenings for more than just getting my kids to sleep at a good time. It’s the cozy feel of the house at night and the gentle warmth of the candle on the kitchen table. It’s the festive autumn tree glowing in the corner, casting a soft light in the living room. It’s the heavy feel of a blanket draped around my kids and me when we snuggle on the couch to read a stack of books. It’s the orange cast to the living room as the sun comes up what feels like hours after me.
A few years ago I read about Hygee, a Swedish term for basically embracing the idea of being cozy. Being an American I know I don’t I fully understand all the ins and outs of this, but what stuck is trying to be purposeful in embracing the dark. What works for me is using light to break through the darkness. I transformed our dark entryway with a cheap lamp placed on a table I grabbed from another area of the house. I placed little fairy lights on a fake plant that sits on top of our buffet. I’m thankful each time I walk into the kitchen in the evening and see a soft glow that automatically turned on coming from that space. In the kid’s rooms, I’ve added tea lights on a timer in the lanterns they made so there’s a welcome light when they walk in their room before bed.
There is a time and a place for lazy, slow days without a set schedule. And, for me, that time is summer. Summers are fantastic for firefly catching, swimming in the dusk, and running around the backyard with bare feet. Autumn, though, marks a time to get back in the swing of things. It’s a time for making the house glow in a cozy way and more self-care. I know I’ll be ready for the longer days of spring and summer but, for now, I’m relishing in the darkness of autumn.
