Hey Reader,

January is the month of fresh starts, renewed motivation, and a burst of energy.

Except if you’re a mum.

December brought some special memories, but the load wore you down.

In amidst the change in routine, you were the one keeping tabs on whether the kids were about to get hungry again, when they needed to sleep, whether they’d had enough connected time with you.

You juggled logistics and emotional responsiveness and the flu season without a real break.

And yet when January rolled around, you expected to feel something akin to excitement about the year ahead.

Not this flatness. Not this sense of being alone with it all.

You can’t help but wonder if this is… just your life now?

Or if this feeling says something about how you just don’t appreciate the life you always wanted.

But you’re not ungrateful, Reader: you’re tired.

Tired of never truly having the chance to switch off.

Tired of living with resentment, of feeling unseen.

Tired of sidelining your own needs while everyone else’s stay at the forefront of your mind.

What if January could be a kind of turning point for you?

Where you finally acknowledge that you’re not failing - you’re under-supported (externally and internally).

Where you grant yourself the permission to not have to do it alone.

Where you have the courage to stop waiting for motherhood to get easier and invest in making a change.

You deserve more joy, more peace, and to feel held ❤️

If this resonates and you know you want 2026 to feel different, my new 1:1 coaching programme Proud of the Parent You Are may be for you.

• Four months of fortnightly emotional resilience coaching with myself (a coaching psychologist)
• Bite-sized audio course lessons and journalling prompts you can return to anytime
• All based in the science of Positive Psychology - practical and realistic to apply for a mum who has basically no time to herself
• Designed to get you feeling like your best self again, fulfilled as a mother and individual, going to bed proud of how you’re parenting, and free of resentment, supported by and connected to your partner again

All for just £219 a month (launch price).

If you’re curious, simply reply and I will send you some more info.

In support of you,

Kirsti

Mum of two | Coaching Psychologist (MAPPCP)

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Can you help?

I’m looking to speak to mums about their experience in motherhood, in order to shape my upcoming programme Proud of the Parent You Are. If you feel like you’re losing yourself in being everything to everybody else, wanting to parent peacefully but feeling like your overwhelm gets in the way of that, and wondering how your previously-fair relationship has ended up with you shouldering majority of the load, you’re exactly who I’d like to talk to. In exchange, I’ll give you free access to my Realistic Self-Care course or a standalone 40-minute coaching session (your choice).

In my world

As you may remember, a few months ago our family trialed out living in Portugal for a a month, drawn there by the kind of warmer weather my husband and I both grew up in, in South Africa. We enjoyed our time there, but ultimately came back feeling like it wasn’t the right move for our family. Being there, my husband and I both found ourselves reckoning with the fact that where we really wanted to be was not Portugal, but back home in Cape Town. We’d always known this, on one level, but somehow after the trip there was a deeper grief about the fact that we can’t live there (because my husband’s career just wouldn’t be feasible). My initial response to this sadness was to try and smooth things over with a “but focus on the positives! Be grateful for your life here!” But before I could get to that place in my mind again, I realised I had to sit with the sadness, to let myself miss the life I imagine we’d have there. And the more I allow myself that, the more I find myself able to embrace everything there is to appreciate about our lives here — a reminder that if gratitude feels hard, it may be because we’re resisting vulnerability. We still don’t know what lies in store for our family and whether we’ll be in the UK or not, but wherever we end up, I have no doubt it’ll be an adventure.