Colleagues, Storms and Naps

A mother's day poem, plus two more poems and a book-heavy Sharing is Caring

Happy belated Mother's Day to my mum, my mother-in-law and all the other mums who read my little newsletter! What a wild and wonderful journey motherhood is! Motherhood has been my biggest artistic inspiration and I think half (or more!) of my poems are about the different experiences in motherhood. I truly pray that when you read my poems that you feel a little more seen, a little less alone and encouraged to keep doing the good work given to you, whether you're a mum or not!

Last year I wrote about my mum and about my sister becoming a mum, two pieces that I'm still very pleased with! Here are a couple more of my favourite motherhood poems: Battle Worn // Tired Eyes // Things I Say To My Children That I Also Need To Hear // The Anchor & The Lifeboat // Lest You Think I Have It Altogether // The Household Need

Below you will find a poem honouring my fellow mum friends plus two other poems. And there's lots of good things I had to share at the end too. Maybe you'll find something lovely to listen to or read.

---

My Colleagues 

My colleagues and I 
Chat by the coffee machine
Ready for the delightful boost of caffeine
Before we continue on with our work

My colleagues and I 
Engage in consultation
Where to source soccer socks and medication 
How to feed our fussy eaters or toilet train 

My colleagues and I 
Each work from home 
Where we cook and wash and nurture our own
But are no more than a call away

My colleagues and I 
schedule meetings and make plans
And pivot when things get taken out of our hands 
By sick kids staying home from school

My colleagues and I 
For the little ones, we mediate
Breaking up fights, teaching how to communicate 
As they play together at our feet 

My colleagues and I 
Don't get paid a wage or share office space
But we do work for the same Boss and live in His grace 
As we mother side by side  

---

When Isaac was a little baby I wrote this little poem about his afternoon nap. Now it's Levi's turn!

Afternoon Nap II 

We slow dance together 
Around the kitchen

Waltz across to put dishes away
Sway over to the veggies ready to be chopped
Bop as I put chicken in the oven 

He snuggles in to my chest
Stills, and falls asleep
Safely strapped to the mama body
That he still considers a part of himself 

---

I wrote this next poem back in January when it was still summer and I was still pregnant. It already feels like a lifetime ago but then I can also picture myself with Isaac in my shrinking lap like it was yesterday. Time is a funny thing.

Summer Storm

I emerge from nap time
On this hot, hot Sunday 
To a dark, sombre house

Gloomy clouds fill the skies
Pregnant with rain 
Thunder rumbles closer and closer

“I love summer storms!” I declare 
The girls look at me wide-eyed
As a booming punctuates my proclamation

Isaac needs waking too 
but he is sullen and not ready to be up
We turn his chair to look out the window

He is nestled in the crook of my arm
Taking up any leftover space he can
Around his sibling in my big belly 

Lightning flashes in the distance
“Did you see that?” I ask him
More blinding bolts, until it splits the whole sky

He flashes a look at me every time he sees it
“Light…coming…through…storm!” 
He says in his halting way, as he thinks out the words

Earlier
There were storms in the house:
Half the family had half a nights sleep
And I woke up with thunder in my chest

Isaac was kept from nap time too long
And he melted down, cycloned in his dad's strong arms
Pinned to the chest, until he finally calmed and slept 

I lay in bed, sore and tired
Rain falling from my eyes
Wondering why we had to weather these storms right now 

Later
I would go to church
Driving alone through the fat drops 
Leaving a tired family behind 

I would sing along to the roar of the heavens 
And the psalm would match the weather speaking of God's loud voice on the mountain and rain on the crops

The whole congregation would jump as one
A CRACK filling our ears
Lightning hitting right outside, so close 

I would sit and be comforted by the gospel
That God gives us our daily bread
He will provide whatever we need, even when we are weary 

And Isaac's words would run through my head
Light coming through storm!
Yes, the Light always does 

---

Sharing is Caring Vol. 13

Jess Ray is releasing a new album at the end of this month and I’ve been loving the singles she’s released so far. I Am Not God is such a good reminder and my absolute favourite is the gorgeous Day That The Lord Has Made. I’ve been rocking Levi to sleep sometimes to the beat of that song and it’s perfect for swaying. She’s also been releasing podcast episodes to discuss the stories behind the songs and I love hearing how these songs came to be!

My dear friend Lys made me a playlist the other day and I found an old Jon Guerra song that I now love: Give Me More.

Some other great music our family has been loving lately: Antidote by Guy Sebastian // Bluey Orchestral Album // Walking through Walls by Sandra McCracken // Andrew Peterson’s Rich Mullins Tribute concert, particularly You Did Not Have A Home.

I haven’t shared the books we’ve been reading and enjoying for a while so here’s a bit of a list:

• I requested my local library to buy Brambley Hedge and then read it to my girls. Greta, who can read on her own, read it to herself too and both girls loved studying the gorgeous, detailed illustrations. If you’re local to me, be sure to reserve this book at the library and share it with your kids!

• My youngest sister got Greta into the How To Train Your Dragon series. I also read the first one for fun, since I love the movie. The books are quite different from the movie but great reads especially if you/your kids love fantasy and action!

• Isaac is really getting into the Julia Donaldson books we have at home. He especially loves Zog, The Smeds And The Smoos, and The Paper Dolls. I also let him watch the little Zog film on ABC kids while I was cutting his hair a couple of weeks ago. The film versions of Julia’s books that she does with Axel Scheffler are so well done! Such a pleasure to watch!

• I read A Place To Hang The Moon to the girls and we all loved it! It is on my wishlist to have on our book shelf (it was also a local library book so once again, reserve it and read it for yourself if you’re local!). The story is just beautiful and the ending is perfect!

• Another book I stumbled across in the library was Beyond Mulberry Glen. As I was prereading it to see if it was appropriate for the girls I could sense the Christian undertones and realized the author is Christian. I didn’t end up reading it aloud because Annie would’ve found it a bit scary but Greta enjoyed it! She needed the ending explained but it was such a beautiful conversation to point out to her how the story reflected biblical themes.

• I noticed the hype around the Emma M Lion series and asked my library to buy them but they denied my request. Then I found the first audio book on Libby and noticed that they were adding the next books one by one. I’ve listened to the first two and they are an absolute delight. I totally get the hype! Very Jane Austin-esque but with a fun, modern feel. They will definitely be going on my wishlist for my girls to read when they’re older.

• I also jumped on the Project Hail Mary bandwagon after I heard so much praise about the movie. I borrowed my sister’s copy who has blacked out the bad language, so can’t say how much of that was blasphemy or swearing. But the story itself is so fascinating! I did not expect to enjoy a sci-fi book this much and although a lot of the scientific/math jargon went over my head, I could not put it down. The ending was so satisfying!

Some articles/essays I’ve read on the internet lately: “I’m Done Having Babies,” Might Be Wisdom. Or It Might Be Exhaustion. // The Interdigitation Rag (absolutely hilarious, do not miss!) // Hospitable Poetry #7 // Cambridge over everything // God is breaking for the broken // We’re Being Shaped by Smut // 44 Simple Ways to Discover Delight, Peace, and Contentment in Your Home // To the Angry Ones // we resemble what we worship // Prepare

And some poetry: Regarding Our Move to Italy // Please Use AI // Alyssa Silvester’s NaPoWriMo poems // Lie Down (Fatherhood Series #19) // Today is my Birthday // Our Foremother’s Bodies // Lenten Sonnet I, 2026 // Poetry is..... // Gluttonous // Liturgy for Items Toddlers Threw Away

And these in honour of Mother’s Day: How to Destroy Young Mothers in 5 Easy Steps // This is My Body, Broken for Her // To all the mothers

We redid our spare room/study/junk room for Greta to move into and I made a bright print for her wall through Canva and printed it as a poster at Officeworks. If you’d like a copy, download here!

I bought this IKEA side table that doubles as a laptop table and it’s perfect for when I’m nap trapped and want to write or work on my computer.

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a lovely month and read lots of lovely poetry and books and listen to wonderful music that points you to the Lord! Xx