Welcome

My Hopes and Dreams

After years of being at home with tiny children, my brain felt dusty. I could manage to make dinner while also wiping down a surface, keeping a baby from digging through the trash, and listening to my precocious four year old talk about slime eels, but this was about how far my intellect stretched in the eight years I was home with young children. Occasionally I managed to read a book or finish a podcast.

The kids all went to full day school last year, and I discovered how much richer my inner life became when I had time to reengage with reading and writing. I could spend time with friends that were similarly interested and finally talk about topics that had only been superficial while we multitasked at the playground. Though the years of caring for young children had stretched and developed me in ways I could have never imagined (and will maybe explore here someday), they often lacked stimulation that reached past the minutiae of taking care of a home and the people within it. It felt wonderful to reawaken that part of myself after the years of hibernation.

I hope The Cultivated Home will find people who are also in seasons of caretaking: those that crave reflection, intellectual conversations, depth, and meaning-making among the hours of giving to others. I plan on exploring literature and reading, as well as looking into sources of informal education and lifelong learning that feel accessible to those of us who work without an income. I’m also interested in what makes our lives beautiful and visually rich, and the ways that we alter our environment and person to feel more aligned with our inner world.

I want this space to be open-minded, thoughtful, and supportive. I’m interested in respectful discussions that help us all to stay connected and growing as we also nurture others. I hope you’ll join me here! Please comment if you feel like introducing yourself. It will be lovely to know that there are others out there.