12/23/2025
Winter is just days away. Longer nights and less daylight can sometimes bring on a perpetual feeling of the "Sunday Scaries." And if you're newly postpartum or up nursing a toddler in the night, it can feel like we need to simply survive the Winter until daylight comes back.
But what if we embraced it? What if instead of running from the dark and staying busy to "survive," we turned inward for the colder months with candles, replenishing soups, twinkle lights, cozy conversations over warm drinks, and refreshing walks in crisp morning air. This concept of cultivating contentment is called Hygge- a Danish practice that helps people soak up all seasons with a grateful heart.
As a new mom, I ran myself ragged trying to reach a version of normalcy that I soon realized was gone forever. The cold and dark months felt more confining and my home felt more entrapping...not the retreat of rest I'd dreamed it would be.
Now a mom of 2, pursuing Hygge released our family into rest. Knowing sleepiness in the dark months is normal, took away mom-guilt. Indulging in cozy socks and giving over to the extra cost of candles and twinkle lights, brought delight. Realizing "there is no bad weather, only bad clothes," prompted my kids and I to get outside every day no matter what temperature. All of these things cultivated a sense of contentment, a feeling of bending with the seasons instead of bracing against them. In turn, I feel a pull every Autumn to turn inward, judge my tiredness less, and prepare to settle in quietly as we refuel for the coming year.
Jesus is so good to have allowed me to learn this lesson very early motherhood.
No matter the route of building cozy, Hygge is an invaluable mindset tool to practice gratitude this season. I believe your home & motherhood will be blessed for it and recharged through it!
~Britney (Postpartum Community Group)
