If you know me, you know I have approximately zero chill.
I love a challenge. I love a project. I love a checklist with little boxes waiting to be marked off. My brain is happiest when it has something to chew on.
One of the hardest parts of maternity leave with my first son wasn’t the sleepless nights or the endless laundry (although there was certainly plenty of both). It was that my mind suddenly went from running at full speed to…not having much to do. I loved caring for my baby, but I also missed feeling more mentally engaged. I found myself reaching for something to think about beyond the next feeding or nap.
So before this maternity leave began, I decided to give myself a little curriculum. I wasn’t looking to optimize maternity leave or squeeze productivity out of every nap. In fact, I wanted the opposite. I wanted something playful. Something that would gently nudge me toward the things that make me feel like me without becoming another obligation.
This year, my word is attune—paying closer attention to the things that have always been there but are easy to overlook in the rush of everyday life. It felt like the perfect lens for this season.
Instead of goals, I made categories:
Family adventures. Reading and personal growth. Photography. Home and lifestyle. Faith and spiritual formation. Nature and beauty.
Each category is filled with tiny ideas rather than big accomplishments. Visit a new playground. Read a classic. Print Instax photos. Memorize Scripture. Watch a sunrise. Notice wildflowers. Organize one drawer. Take one photo every week that tells the story of this season.
None of them are urgent. None of them are required. They’re simply invitations.
An invitation to notice.
An invitation to keep learning.
An invitation to create.
An invitation to be fully present during a season that I know will pass far too quickly.
The best part is that there’s absolutely no pressure to finish it. If the days get full of spit-up, contact naps, and keeping two little boys fed and loved on, that’s okay. This isn’t a race to the finish line. It’s just a collection of gentle reminders for the moments when I have a little margin.
We’re about five weeks into maternity leave now, and I’ve loved it so far. Not because I’m crossing everything off, but because it’s helping me stay connected to the things that fill me up alongside motherhood.
I’m also collecting little pieces of this season in a small album—photos, favorite quotes, scripture, gratitude lists, funny moments, things the boys do that I never want to forget. A tangible reminder of what this maternity leave actually felt like.
I’ve always loved creating little bucket lists for different seasons of life. Not because I think every moment needs to be productive, but because I know myself well enough to know that intentionality helps me slow down and pay attention.
And I think that’s exactly what Attune was always asking me to do.