Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Decluttering, Delighting, and Growing
22 Plays2 days ago
Welcome to Episode 25 of On the Ground Parenting and a very happy 2026! Hosts Sandy, Sam, and Kelly launch into the new year not with rigid resolutions, but with deep reflection and specific intentions. This episode provides a roadmap for listeners to navigate the fresh start of a new calendar year by examining what they carry with them and what they choose to leave behind.
The team shares a series of prompts designed to spark personal growth and family connection. From the emotional work of fostering independence in young adults to the physical act of decluttering 15-year-old cloth diapers, the hosts get honest about their own journeys. They also dive into what brings them true joy—whether it is snowshoeing a backyard labyrinth, learning a new instrument for pure fun, or the simple "awe and wonder" of watching a garden grow.
The conversation concludes with a focus on self-care and a lighthearted birthday shout-out to a fellow grandparent, Eugene Levy, inviting him to join the show and share his own "on the ground" grandparenting experiences.
Connect with Us
We would love to hear your New Year's intentions or your favorite "groaner" jokes!
To support the show and keep our programming free for all families, visit us at patreon.com/onthegroundparenting
On the Ground Parenting is a production of Muskoka Family Focus Parent Education Program. Happy New Year!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to On the Ground Parenting Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
On the Ground Parenting is a project of Muskoka Family Focus, a registered Canadian charity. They rely on your support to keep the show going and to continue their great work helping families.
00:00:11
Speaker
To connect with our hosts and to show your support, join us at patreon.com forward slash on the ground parenting. You can join for free or for any amount you would like to give.
New Year Reflections and Resolutions
00:00:47
Speaker
Well, hello, 2026, and welcome, everyone. This is On the Ground Parenting Podcast, and we're pleased to be with you launching into a whole new year. My name is Sandy, and my parent-ed colleagues include... Sam and Kelly.
00:01:03
Speaker
Woo-hoo! Or maybe for you, is it... Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo! What's it like coming into the new year for you? Well, I am returning ah to a new adventure for a month, doing a little bit of work out of town, and I'm excited about that, about getting to work with some students, so I've been really looking forward to that. And i don't really know what 2026 will hold. Sometimes I have an idea of where I'd like to go, and I think i'm going to spend January just thinking about what do I want it to be full of. How about you, Sam? I think it's an equal part excitement about what the year could hold, as well as preparation for what I know the year needs to hold. So those are the kind of the things that are weighing out to to find some balance right now for me as we enter this new calendar year. Yeah, it's always a bit of an adventure. And I will say that I pause when I read people's comments about good riddance 2025 and, you know, 2026 going to be the best year yet. And I'm thinking, that's almost like provoking, you know.
00:02:12
Speaker
Anyway, for me, I like to think about the adventure of the new year, I guess I would say, and what will be, will be, and to not try to forecast any any type of anything, just to be able to be with what arises in the best way that I can.
00:02:27
Speaker
My colleagues are sort of sitting on the edge of their seat, or maybe, you know, a little bit tentative because they have no idea what I'm about to bring them into. and so...
00:02:39
Speaker
I thought that maybe we would dive a little bit more into this whole relationship with the new year. A lot of people like to reflect on the previous year, the year that, you know, we're saying farewell to, and maybe use the experiences that they've had to guide them as they come into the next year. And we talked a little bit about how,
00:02:58
Speaker
collectively, we share that we don't really talk about resolutions or anything. We're all coming into mostly intentions. And I like to think about the expression of what we give our children is how our children know how to be with other people. So basically, we are the relationship foundation for our children, definitely on the ground, in the ground.
00:03:19
Speaker
From that comes the realization that I need to be taking care of myself first and ah my well-being. I need to be aware that emotions are present and how I'm managing them, how I'm managing myself within a relationship.
00:03:34
Speaker
So I have a few prompts that I'd like to bring forward to you too and offer an opportunity for you to reflect.
Letting Go of Past Pressures
00:03:44
Speaker
And as well, for all ah everyone who's listening, perhaps write these down and use them yourself as a little bit of ah an activity to consider what you're going forward with.
00:03:54
Speaker
So here's the first one. What is no longer coming with you into this new year?
00:04:04
Speaker
That's a big one. Mm-hmm. think for me, we're kind of on the cusp of a new journey and it's largely due to the differing needs in my house. So right now what's happening is I'm trying to offload some of the responsibility of helping my young adult adult. So I think what I'm leaving or trying really hard to leave in the previous year is doing it for him.
00:04:34
Speaker
I mean, I've always tried to build independence, but I've just come up against it trying to invoke services for him. And I think it's really important as a parent to keep the boundary that eventually there comes a point where even if your child might not be prepared, it's time to outsource some of the supports that are required to help them get where they want to be as an adult. Yeah.
00:04:59
Speaker
Maybe it's a bit heavy, I guess, but it's just really what I've been striving towards putting in place to leave in 2025 so that we can move forward and have a better relationship and better communication because there won't be maybe as much pressure or expectation from me about what I would like my child to be doing and maybe not as much expectation from him about what he's used to having help with.
00:05:23
Speaker
It is a big step forward. Thanks, Sam.
Improving Personal Interactions
00:05:27
Speaker
Oh, such good questions. i should have i should have called in sick tonight. I'm really glad you didn't.
00:05:38
Speaker
But I think what I'd like to leave behind in 2025 is full calendars. Too much saying like I'm too busy and too much trying to squeeze things in and more. 2026, I want to leave more white space, more time to do things with my nieces and nephews, more time to do things with my kids. Hmm.
00:06:01
Speaker
Yeah, I like that idea, not having things so tightly booked. To be completely transparent and honest with everybody, I never really prepare for these. So when my colleagues are talking and sharing, and I'm listening to them, and then all of a sudden it's my turn, and I'm thinking, oh, that's right. It's important that I participate too.
00:06:20
Speaker
um And something that has just sort of come to the forefront of my mind is I'm really noticing what judgment is and the subtle nuances of how I have been judging.
00:06:34
Speaker
So that's something that I want to, I'll say, have more finesse, more control over is noticing when the mind is going into that place or when the words are coming out that really are judging words.
00:06:47
Speaker
So that's something that I really want to not bring into this year with me. Okay, you ready for the next one? No.
Decluttering for a Fresh Start
00:06:58
Speaker
Kelly's ready. I'm not. I love Sam's honesty. What can you let go of or declutter, whether it's internally or externally, that no longer feels like you?
00:07:12
Speaker
I'm laughing because I've been decluttering. And most recently, I decluttered what was left of my 15-year-old's cloth diapers. So...
00:07:24
Speaker
Now, to be clear, Sam, your 15-year-old isn't wearing cloth diapers. No, no, no. You're talking about cloth diapers from 15 years ago. Correct, from when he was a babe. And they have had some action since then because I have, upon occasion, they've come in super handy with my grandchildren, but we're ready to let those go now. So material things, that's what we're working on decluttering in our house right now is material things. And toys, like we don't need a lot of toys anymore, but there sure are a lot of toys still in my house. So yeah, that's what we're working on right now, or I'm working on. Yeah, material things do seem to collect like detritus.
00:07:59
Speaker
And I've also been noticing on my laptop old files. So I've had some down evenings lately, and I've been just trying to get rid of old files that aren't serving me well. Like, I think this theme of decluttering and leaving things in 2025 is what I've been just gently working on the last couple weeks.
00:08:18
Speaker
Fresh start, new snow, new year energy. I think we're on a theme here, you guys, because that's part of what I've been going through too. The two of you are recipients of some mugs recently. But besides that, mugs are are an easy thing to get out of the cupboards compared to children's books. I have such a hard time letting go of children's books, but I need to move them on. So I'm going to do a first stop at my youngest grandson's house and we'll see how they travel down the road. But I've been spending the past week going through things and when my house had a flood, I still had things in boxes that I hadn't dealt with. And so that's what I've been working on.
00:09:02
Speaker
Now I'm suspicious of you because I was at the office today and there is a large box of children's books sitting on my desk that was not there when I was last at the office. Did you sneak in?
00:09:14
Speaker
No, that was not me. That was not me. But thanks for the hint. but Thanks for the hint. You've got space at your desk. Not anymore.
00:09:25
Speaker
Okay.
Nurturing Joy and Connection
00:09:26
Speaker
so here's the next one. What do you want to cultivate to nurture or grow in this next year of your life? Oh, this one is a winner, winner, chicken dinner for me. Kind and open communication in my family.
00:09:43
Speaker
Which I think that honestly, we do fairly well at a good chunk of the time, but lately it has been strained. So that's something that I'm really working hard for myself to cultivate.
00:09:55
Speaker
Well, I think literally i love growing my cut flower garden with my nieces and nephews, but in a more metaphorical stretch kind of way, i think clarity of purpose and being brave enough to just try some of the things that I think about, but I sometimes get in my own way to live big and take risks and take chances.
00:10:18
Speaker
More Miss Frizzle. Excellent. Excellent.
00:10:22
Speaker
I'm pausing because the pause is what I want to bring in more regularly, more frequently. I notice there are times when I will say things that may end up not being the most skillful or wisest. So that time when I could stop talking, whether it's talking, texting, emailing, whatever it is, I want to cultivate more of the pause, which will give me that opportunity to then ponder.
00:10:53
Speaker
Is this the practice? Yeah, so that's what I would like to do. Pause and ponder. Now, the next one is what lights up your soul? My garden brings me so much joy.
00:11:07
Speaker
i just love planting things and watching them grow and being able to harvest food for my family. So i think that's really been a light for me. And I'm not copying just because you said you love your cut flower garden, Kelly. Yeah. Oh, I know you're not. I have disassembled gardens with you for fun and you've come and helped me weed mine. Yeah, I think gardening for sure. And for me, i'm I'm learning to play an instrument. And I think that's the piece that not only does it bring me joy because I sing the song all day and I hum it and I hum it when I'm here and I do do do it when I'm there. But I think it's also the thing that the only reason to do it is for joy.
00:11:48
Speaker
And I think as somebody who has done things because it was the right thing to do or because that's how you earned money or because your kids had to be picked up in your laundry, like that that striving of being at the mercy of the to-do list, there's something sort of very antithesis to like just trying to learn a song on an instrument because it's not going to bring me money. Trust me, people might pay me not to play. But it's just fun.
00:12:15
Speaker
It just puts a song in my heart. I think when I see my grandkids, I can feel a light erupting inside of me. And in addition to being with them and, you know, family, friends, I'm telling you just being outside. So I was shoveling snow quite a bit. You know, I went over to my neighbor. She's going to come up to her cottage and So I shoveled off, you know, her steps in her deck and did my own. And I can still feel the glow right now in my body being
Finding Awe in Simple Pleasures
00:12:45
Speaker
inside. and And I snowshoed my first labyrinth of the year in the backyard. And it just gave me a thrill to do that. And I was up in the field snowshoeing and I was walking along the edge of the river on the crunch, crunch, crunch of the ice.
00:12:59
Speaker
I just get a charge out of all of that and taking a moment to notice the leaves or to hear the birds. So just taking that opportunity to notice the activities of the birds, the animals, everything around me, that really lights up my soul. Like I get a charge out of that big time.
00:13:18
Speaker
Yes, you do. And I love it. I love all your descriptions of your outdoor adventures. It's always pretty fascinating to hear how you describe things. Yeah, it's wonderful. Yeah, I was watching the meteorite shower the other night. I was using the snowblower and all of a sudden I remembered it was happening. And so I just plunked down on the snow and watched the sky and it was pretty good viewing. That's amazing.
00:13:43
Speaker
o ho ho Okay, here's the last one. How do you cultivate, ignite, or grow awe and wonder?
00:13:56
Speaker
Hmm.
00:13:58
Speaker
We're staring at each other through the camera to see who's going to go first.
00:14:06
Speaker
Awe and wonder. i think doing more of the things that I know i enjoy, that really does help for me because the more time you spend doing things that fill your cup, the more able you are to see awe and wonder, I think, just in the world around you.
00:14:24
Speaker
I think for me, the outside really speaks to me or really comes through, whether it's watching the seasons change or the plants go from where did they come from to growing seeds to, you know, floating away in the wind or like I get a whole bunch of flowers out of these little tiny things that look like dirt. yeah Like it's kind of amazing. or Or vegetables out of like nothing. Yeah. Yeah.
00:14:54
Speaker
And we grew cucumbers last year. i plant my mother-in-law's garden and then everybody kind of shares it. And sometimes you found a vegetable in there that nobody saw because you had to look at the right angle. But the fact that the fact that food grows is the whole definition, I think, sometimes of onward.
00:15:11
Speaker
Yeah. hmm. That's true. And I get what you're saying, because suddenly you'll realize you have a gigantic cucumber or a gigantic zucchini that you didn't even realize existed. But all of a sudden there it's as if by magic it's appeared overnight, but it just was hiding.
00:15:26
Speaker
I sort of hear what you're saying, Sam, and you as well, Kelly. It's a little bit about making sure I'm well-nourished and finding out what is it that's exciting me. When I'm excited about something, then I feel the awe and I feel the wonder.
00:15:40
Speaker
And I read something earlier this week, totally unrelated, but it talked about with children that to promote their development of awe and wonder, it would be to notice and celebrate what they're doing or what they are interested in. And then that just sort of contributes to their awe and wonder development. Yeah, I was just going to say, i listened to this podcast on the Book of Delights. And the idea was that if you saw something delightful, you should put your finger in the air and say delightful and point to it. So I did an entire hike with girl guides once where all the kids were looking through the forest for things that were delightful. It was the most fun afternoon and it was so silly and yet so rewarding to just find these things. And that's what your a little story reminded me of. Yeah, and I think it just contributes to people then having that experience and every time then they're noticing maybe that's that light within what lights up your soul. It's that. Delightful.
Inviting Eugene Levy and Closing Credits
00:16:40
Speaker
Well, thank you for a delightful chatting time through these prompts and anything that you would like to offer from the ground to the rest of the world. I think as we're welcoming this new year, just that pause, that thought for what do you want to welcome in with 2026 and what do you want to leave behind as we've just chatted about?
00:17:03
Speaker
I think that the switching of the calendar to January is always a great opportunity to do a bit of reflection as well. I think it it really speaks to that. And just trying to focus on the things that do bring you some joy in your life.
00:17:18
Speaker
I like what my colleagues are sharing. And one thing that is burbling up for me is just the fact that I need to take care of me. i don't know if it was through participation or heart and stroke, some of those associations, but anyway, they had this, either it was walk a kilometer a day. So do more than what you're already doing or the 50 squats. And I've been doing that throughout the day, different times. And it's sort of fun. And I've inspired other people to want to do it too. Well, inspired, challenged, told.
00:17:53
Speaker
I mean, invited. Exactly, exactly, exactly. And I just want to say one last thing. So as everyone may realize, we don't always record our podcasts on the day that they're being aired, of course. And the day that we're recording this just happens to be Eugene Levy's birthday, December Well, happy 79th birthday, Eugene.
00:18:20
Speaker
And there are two grandparents on this podcast right now. And as two grandparents to another, we'd like to get you on the ground to talk about being a grandparent.
00:18:34
Speaker
Join us. Reach out to us. See you in this new year, everyone. Farewell. Happy New Year.
00:18:50
Speaker
On the Ground Parenting is a production of Muskoka Family Focus's parent education program. It is made possible by the generous donations of listeners like you. If you'd like to make a donation, sponsor an episode, or just ask a question of one of our hosts, go to linktr.ee forward slash on the ground parenting.
00:19:08
Speaker
On the Ground Parenting is produced and published by Red Juice Studios. To learn more, go to redjuicestudio.com. Thanks for listening.