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In the middle of the storm, Remember to Breathe
Did you have a good weekend? We’re almost at the end of August, and it’s as if I didn’t even see it go by! It’s incredible how it flies by. I’m working on a new children’s book talking about yoga, nature, and meditation. The characters are magic creatures, living in the middle of the forest, but I’ll say more about this project in the future. Anyway, I wanted to remind myself to “breathe.” 💨 especially when everything goes crazy! So I’ve prepared this wallpaper for my phone using one of my illustrations for the children’s book project. And every time I use my phone, I see this small and kind reminder, and I breathe. You can download it for free. Take good care of yourselves😚
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When I cry… My Ebook about emotions
I’m slowly getting used to the rain that keeps on falling, thinking that summer seems to be over. However, I still have a little doubt and I tell myself that the sun will come back when everyone goes back to work! Lately, I started creating a very simple format of stories to share them and also to improve my storytelling and illustration skills. Often, these stories are inspired by my daily life and topics that I find important regarding child development. This first story is simply based on my experiences. When I don’t feel well, I feel even worse if people ask me too many questions. So, perhaps I’m still at the same stage of development as children… If you have any comments or story ideas, I would be really happy to hear them.
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How to react when you’re child is in an emotional tornado?
Emotions are always a big struggle for children (and for adults too by the way). That’s why I wanted to create a simple tool to help them navigate and understand the “main” emotions. My first observation is that it can be so frustrating for a child to feel all these big emotions without being able to understand or put words on them. So they explode in their way, it can be shouting, crying, hurting, kicking everything… And as adults, as we don’t react like that anymore (just sometimes) we are always surprised by the intensity of this volcano of emotions. We have a giant fire in front of us, so our first reaction is simple: we want to throw water on top of it and stop it. So we ask a lot of questions to understand, and we even say “Stop!” or other reactions that feel natural for us. But you know what, I think you already know that it’s not helping. It even does the opposite. So what should we do? My answer is super hyper-simple: Nothing! Yes, nothing. For at least 15 to 30 seconds, do nothing. Just be there, with your child if you are allowed to. And breathe. Stay calm, it will not last. I said if you are allowed because some kids need their own space such as my youngest who prefers going into her bedroom to calm down when she’s upset) After that, your child is still in this big emotional tornado but it’s slowly cooling down, and now she/he can hear you. That was not the case before. Now, you can help him/her to understand the emotion by By doing these simple things, you are helping your children to understand what they feel and to know that it’s normal. So the next time,…
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The struggles of my expat life
Today, I wanted to share with you some thoughts of mine about my life as an Expat. Being an Expat is such a delicious and also terrible experience. Once you have left your own country, you kind of lose your identity. I don’t see myself as a Dane but the strange thing is that I don’t see myself as a French anymore too. When I travel back to France, I can feel that it’s not working and I miss Denmark, which is my country now. But I love being in France, hearing French everywhere, and being able to understand everything. We have the same code, the same kind of humor, the same references. And it’s so comfortable. I love to write but it has been difficult to rely on a specific language lately. Sometimes, I only want to jump back into my mother tongue. But the thing is being an expat makes it difficult for me. I feel that I don’t have a comfort zone anymore. I think in English, I think in Danish, I think in French and I mix every language without knowing which one I’m using. This summer it will be seven years since we decided to move to Denmark. I love this beautiful country, the way of life, and all the beautiful opportunities we have here as a family. But I will never be one of them, neither will I be one of the French any more. I’m somewhere in the middle, flying without any roots in the ground. But what I’ve discovered is that now, my roots are inside of me, they are everywhere, as I am.
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Comment le challenge 1000 heures dehors a changé mon quotidien ?
J’aimerais partager avec vous cet super challenge. À la fin de l’année dernière, je me sentais complètement perdue et je ne savais plus vraiment si je voulais continuer l’école à la maison avec mes enfants. Ma plus jeune fille ne faisait plus de sieste dans la journée, et j’avais vraiment du mal à trouver du temps pour dessiner ou simplement pour penser. J’ai donc commencer à regarder les différents børnehave (institution danoise pour les enfants de 3 à 6 ans) Alors que je regardais Instagram, ce post est apparu : un challenge de 1000 heures. Je ne savais pas ce que c’était, mais cela m’a immédiatement intriguée. J’ai voulu en lire plus et ensuite, je ne pouvais plus à m’arrêter. Je n’attendais qu’une chose : commencer ! Alors qu’est-ce que ce challenge ? Plus qu’un challenge, c’est le fait de s’engager ainsi que sa famille à passer le plus d’heures possibles à l’extérieur. Nous avons donc commencé tout petit petit car en janvier, il fait encore bien froid au Danemark. Après la première heure, les enfants était glacés et voulaient rentrer à la maison. Mais lentement, j’ai trouvé des petites astuces, on s’est équipé. On partait en forêt avec du lait d’avoine bien chaud dans mon sac et on buvait une bonne boisson chaude entouré par le calme de la nature. J’ai aussi acheté des chauffettes pour les mains afin d’aider les enfants à rester plus longtemps dehors. Petits pas après petits pas. Ce challenge a changé beaucoup de choses dans ma vie de tous les jours. En effet, j’étais toujours avec mes enfants, mais d’une manière différente. On parlait de toutes sortes de choses, d’histoires, de problèmes, d’animaux… On prenait des photos dans la forêt, tous ensemble. Et après ces moments, on revenait à la maison comme si on…
