It has been a little while, but I wanted to come back sharing something we’ve been doing for the last year that has helped me and my family a great deal.

It’s nothing new; rather, it’s timeless: going with the seasons.

We always see the season mentioned in certain areas, such as “served with seasonal fruit,” but may not give ‘seasonal’ too much thought, overall. This is, in part, due to our ability to skirt around the constraints of the seasons.

We experience four seasons, where we live, and yet I have never worried about being able to find tomatoes in the dead of winter.  With technology, infrastructures, and transportation, we don’t face the limitations that we once had—and this has its pros and cons.

An advantage is having access to coffee beans, bananas, and other crops that I can’t grow in my backyard—anytime. I just need to hope and skip to the local market. If I don’t have time to grow or preserve something, my household isn’t going to go hungry.

A disadvantage is a lack of rest, and this is where I’m going to share why we made some changes.

Reading older books with E and V, there’s mention of farm work in the spring, summer, and the harvest in the fall. With handicrafts and such taking place in the winter.

Yet now, we try to do it all, all the time.

Don’t get me wrong, there are certain things we are unable to do year-round, like gardening.  But we are trying to get into the mindset and habit of honouring the seasons and chores/hobbies that go with them.

For instance, I took up sewing again last winter.  But once we began preparing and planting seeds for the garden, the sewing machine and materials were put away.

Even now, I realize what I want to make E and V for Christmas, maybe even L, but being a crochet item, I’m waiting until we are finished canning our garden’s goodies.  

By doing this, I allow rest.  

Rather than trying to do as much as I can during every waking moment, I allow for breaks.

After a long day of gardening and canning, we can spend the evening reading.  

In the winter, when I do indoor chores and tasks, such as deep-cleaning, we can do those and then spend the evening reading.  (Reading is a favourite pastime for our family.)

In the spring, summer, and early fall, we have many outings.  In the winter, or once snow falls, we become homebodies and adjust accordingly. 

While it does call for a little more patience, such as waiting to begin a sewing project, I’m glad that it’s encouraging a natural seasonal rhythm and rest.

E, V, and I talked about this when reading Aesop’s “The Ants and the Grasshopper.”  There’s a season of work and a season of rest.  

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are times of rest in the summer, with plenty of gatherings or trips, but winter brings a different kind.  One that’s reminiscent of hibernation. 

I’m curious, do you honour the season and yourself in a similar manner, or do you have modifications? Perhaps you live somewhere that does not have four seasons–do you still ensure there’s a “season” of rest?