Steph Irwin is a mom to two neurodivergent children. She is also a caregiver for a nonprofit for children with cancer and their families. She says she is looking for some peace in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. A lot of it is just about embracing the season, too, which is one of rest.
Steph Irwin is a mom to two neurodivergent children. She is also a caregiver for a nonprofit for children with cancer and their families. She says she is looking for some peace in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
Luke: There's this book called Wintering by Catherine May that talks about the power of rest and retreat. A lot of it is just about embracing the season, too, which is one of rest. Can we attempt to take some time for ourselves during this holiday season and winter season?
So I want to also share with you guys, like, reflection is such an important thing. And it encourages self awareness and introspection as tools for resilience. How are you guys going to search for peace? Feel free to share.
Good morning, friends in the Cadre sphere. How is everybody doing today? Good morning, Robert. Cadre. I am glad to be here with you guys today. It has. It has been a minute since I've been here in the Cadre sphere. Life has been. Life has been lifing a little extra lately, so I'm just glad to be back. And this morning I have my hug in a mug, which is my peace cup. So what do you guys have that's giving you a little bit of peace this morning and as well as peace coming into the holiday season? And feel free to share what might be bringing you some peace today?
So I like my little hug in a mug, my cup of coffee, that's what I like to call it every morning. And that gives me a sense of peace. Good morning, Chris. It's good to see all of you on here. For those of you who I have not met yet, I am Steph Irwin. I am a mom to two wonderful, neurodivergent children. Good morning, Jules. Both of my kids have adhd, and my daughter also has autism, so I am also their caregiver for my job. Good morning. For my job, I work for a nonprofit for children with cancer and their families.
I do programs for them both inside and outside of the hospital. And I live here in Savannah, Georgia, where it is currently chilly, you guys. And this Southern girl is loving the bit of cold that we're getting. I know some of you up north are probably not feeling that way every day, but I am loving it because we don't get it that often. So I don't know about y'all, but I am certainly looking for some peace in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. And it is the time of year where I try to remind myself to slow down, to find some peace, because I know that usually this season gets to be quite busy.
And I'm sure a lot of you caregivers may feel the same way. So it's easy to be overtaken sometimes by just the busyness of everything going on. And just speaking from my personal experience, taking my daughter, you know, to and from her therapies is. It's a normal thing that we do, but you just add on the stuff with the season. You know, both kids shuffling them around, gifts for teachers, gifts for therapists, gifts for kids, all the Christmas shopping and, you know, breaking up scuffles between my children.
So that's always fun. And managing family boundaries this time during the holidays. So, you know, just one thing after another, and it just. It piles up. So it makes it a challenge sometimes to sit back and to, like, try to find my peace. I know that I want to just take a step back and try to be mindful, be present, search for that peace, soak in the season as much as possible. And I'm sure a lot of you guys feel like you are seeking that as well. Jules, eight degrees. Oh, now. Yeah, that. That may be.
That may be too cold. Well, I hope you find some warmth. I hope you find some warmth with your peace today, too. So there is this great book by Katherine May, and it's called Wintering. As we're talking about weather, I know it's not officially winter yet for two more weeks, but as Jules has said, it probably feels very wintry in a lot of places right now. So there's this book called Wintering by Catherine May, which it's a great book, and it talks about the power of rest and retreat. And I just wanted to share with you guys some great points that I took from this book.
So. And a lot of it is just about embracing the season, too, which is one of rest. Just knowing that nature is going through its own seasons and this is a season of rest. And it's okay for us to take rest, too, which is hard to remind ourselves that. Good morning, Luke. It is. It can be hard sometimes. So, yes, finding the rest in the season and trying to do this process called wintering and to embrace it. So what about us? Can we attempt to take some time for ourselves, some time to slow down, some time to rest during this holiday season and winter season and search for this peace that we all would love to experience?
Y'all feel free to share with me what your plans are for seeking peace and rest this season. I know sometimes it's easier said than done. So but also in if we are resting and retreating, that's just going to give us resilience for the journey ahead. I know that I have asked off for. I saved up my vacation days to take off a good chunk of December because I knew that I personally, personally am going to need some rest. There's some things I want to get done before the kids are out of school and just to spend time with family.
So that is what my plan is, to try to find peace, as much peace as I can find this season, and to just prepare myself for, for the journey ahead and just take that time for rest and retreat. So I want to also share with you guys, like, reflection is such an important thing. And this is something that Catherine May talks about in the book Wintering as well. And it encourages reflection, encourages self awareness and introspection as tools for resilience. So if we're taking the time to sit back and be self aware and you know, just to let our, let our minds be and just be in the moment, that's only going to make us that much more resilient down the road.
And also I wanted to add in, community is such an important thing during this season, during the winter season, during the holiday season, and it is going to help us to feel less alone. So if you can connect with community, whether that be family, friends, people you work with, community groups, it's a great way to go through the wintering together. And you guys treat yourself with kindness and don't get down on yourself if you're not as productive as maybe you were before. Just, just give yourself this time and space to experience some self compassion and be gentle with yourself.
So how are you guys going to search for peace? Feel free to share. Feel free to share now. I hope you guys can slow it on down a little bit this week and do something for yourselves because as caregivers we do get caught up in the hustle and bustle often. So I hope that you guys can help find your peace and I just want you to know that you are not alone. You are not alone and we are all here for one another. I hope you guys have a good week and I'll see you back next week. Have a good Thursday.
