A Different Type Of Nesting

Typically when people talk about nesting they are referring to friends or family who are expecting a baby. While that is true, I think it goes well beyond that. It seems to me that the act of nesting; creating a fresh, safe, cozy space can come about with both beginnings and endings. It can take the form of getting your head around big changes or new ideas, and creating a space within yourslef for tackling them.

After my mom passed away in October, when I returned home in after having spent the better part of three months in California, I was both grieving and trying to settle back into my home. I found myself cleaning, re-arranging, decorating rooms that I’d ignored for years! I realized a huge hole was present when I remembered that anytime I had switched things up in the past, I’d text my mom pictures or do a live FaceTime with her to get her feedback and suggestions on my changes. Her imput was always valuable and left a lasting impression on how I look at my home. Never place pairs of things around, use a group of three…odd numbers are the key! Through this process I reflected on those conversations and the exercise gave me both busyiness and and a sense peace.

I had just started writing agian right before mom went in for surgery and she was so thrilled that I was back at it! She was a writer and was proud that I had found my voice again after an extended period of organizing the chaos of life. When I was writing daily, I remember that my mind was on….ALL THE TIME. There was a constant narrative going on in my head as I composed posts. I noticed that beginning to happen again over the last week.

It’s like the opposite of writers block. Fragmented starts of words and phrases swirling in my head as they form the spine of a topic to write on. I realized this is also a nesting of sorts. My words being carefuly placed like a twig or a piece of lint forming into sentences that begin shape to my little nest; to make it a safe comfortable place, a jumping off point for my writing to take flight. Have you found yourself nesting in times of change?