Finding Joy in the Middle Month of March

Inside: March can be a difficult month, here’s a few simple ways to bring joy to your home this month.

Hello, friends! Can you believe it is MARCH already?! We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring and yet still in the tight grip of winter most days.

I have found that after Valentine’s Day, the thrill of winter starts to wear off and we are weary of winter and being inside. March can be a hard month because it sits just in between winter and spring.

Many of us are anxious to get outside and plant gardens or buy flowers; we are anticipating the first buds on the trees and seeing the daffodils push up through the ground. Yet for all of our anticipation, March often holds more wintry days than not. Days that are cold, gray, and full of rain or maybe even a late season snow shower.

In my years of homemaking and motherhood, I have found such deep joy in cultivating beauty in the everyday moments and making celebrations of small things and March is one of those months that needs a little extra creativity and intentionality to make that happen.

We have an incredible opportunities as mamas and homemakers to turn these ordinary and dreary days of March into something special. I’d like to share some simple ideas to bring joy to this ordinary month of March.

Invite a Friend for Coffee or Tea

Does anyone else miss the days of spontaneously stopping in on a friend for a cup of coffee or tea and a warm treat? I love the beauty that these informal visits created: time and space for real-life connection and mentorship; encouragement and community.

Because we live in a smaller community and have intentionality cultivated a slower, simpler lifestyle, we have the space for spontaneously inviting friends to come by and it is so wonderful.

Let me encourage you this month to invite one friend over to share a cup of tea, maybe bake a warm treat, and just enjoy slowly savoring the gift of friendship. If you have children, pull out the playdough or some craft supplies and let the kids play together. These real life connections are so rich and we miss so much when we hurry past the opportunities.

If you have small children this may feel especially daunting, but let me encourage you: invite people into the mess. Of course, do what you can to keep a neat and tidy house and if you need a good rhythm for that, check out this blog post where I share a simple cleaning routine and free printable.

In the end, there is something beautiful about letting others see your everyday, imperfect life, and inviting a mom for coffee is such a sweet way to connect.

Plan a spring feast

Spring gets me in the mood for lighter meals: fresh spinach and salad greens, juicy berries, grilled meats, lemon bread – these are just some of the foods that come to mind when I think of spring.

This year we are planning our first ever spring feast. My daughter has been anxiously awaiting and counting down the days until spring since the ground hog saw his shadow, so I thought it would be fun to plan a special meal to celebrate the arrival of spring.

I plan to decorate our table with a linen table cloth, fresh flowers and candles, and lots of “spring elements”.

Here’s some spring food ideas if you’d like to plan your own spring feast:

Plan a garden and order seeds/plants

There’s just something about planning for a garden that brightens a gloomy winter day. Around here, we love to plant a vegetable garden with things like tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini and I love to have a cut flower garden for fresh flower arrangements all summer. We also like to grow herbs like basil, oregano, calendula, and mint.

If you’re wanting to plant a cut flower garden, be sure and check out this blog post where I share my favorite flower to grow for cut flower arrangements.

My favorite places to order seeds from are True Leaf Market and Seed Geeks. We love to look through the seed catalogues that come in the mail and decide what we want to plan and then I order from one of these shops.

If you’re not planning to plant a garden or don’t want to start plants from seed, March is a great time to visit your local plant nursery. It’s lovely to see all the signs of new life and spring, whether you purchase anything or not.

Go for a nature walk

Nothing like the whispers of spring to pull us outdoors and dream of long summer days. Spring is a lovely time to go for a nature walk: notice the trees beginning to bud and the flowers that start to push themselves up through the cold ground. Maybe you live in an area with daffodils and tulips – savor the pops of color and first signs of spring.

You might even consider taking along colored pencils or watercolor supplies and sketching or painting your nature findings. This is such a great activity if you have children to help them learn to look in wonder at their surroundings and appreciate the beauty of the natural world.

Find beauty in family rituals

I’m convinced that the rhythms we build into our homes shape the culture of our homes. If we are intentionally creating memories and connecting with our children and spouse, we are fostering love and hope and shared memories and experiences that will anchor each of us to each other and to home.

We love Friday night pizza night in our house! Almost every Friday we make pizza and play games or watch a show together. It’s a simple rhythm, but it has become so meaningful to us and is something we look forward to each week.

Some other ideas for intentional family connection:

Sunday tea time – Make a pot of tea and a warm baked treat and share rich conversation around the table together or read a beautiful story out loud.
Saturday waffles – This is something we often do in our home: Saturday morning waffles or pancakes, it’s such a fun treat!
Family walks – A favorite ritual for us, we eagerly anticipate the days when we have light after supper for a quick walk together.

Make space for quiet

We live in a fact-paced world and sometimes our hearts just grow weary, especially in the mundaneness of the month of March. If you are feeling worn down and weary or discouraged, I cannot encourage you enough to pull away from the noise, turn off the screens, delete the apps and just be present.

Seek extra rest, physically and mentally. Do things that bring you joy and fill your cup. Read the Bible, pray, and leave ample space for true quiet and reflection. It is truly one of the most life-giving things you can do for yourself.

For more homemaking inspiration and ideas to create beauty in your home, I highly recommend reading this book.

I hope these ideas have been helpful for you and given you some inspiration to create beauty and life in your home this month. I’d love to hear what you’re most anticipating this spring and what you do to create beauty in this middle month of March.