I know a few of you will be wondering why I chose ‘Waiting for Olives’ as the title of my blog. It’s a bit random, unless you know the backstory, so I thought I’d share.
It started with a psalm
For our wedding, my husband and I chose part of Psalm 127.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in His ways.
By the labour of your hands you shall eat. You will be happy and prosper.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine in the heart of your house; your children like olive shoots around your table.
Indeed thus shall be blessed the man who fears the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion all the days of your life.
Psalm 127 1-6
What I particularly liked about the psalm was the image of children popping up like fresh green shoots around our dining table. Coming from a large family myself, I looked forward to big dinners full of conversation with all our children one day.
That said, I was also somewhat nervous about starting a family. Having children is a big responsibility and a huge change. In the throes of the massive change marriage brought to my life, I often worried about how I would cope when we became parents, especially when it felt like we hadn’t worked out how to be married yet.
All the same, I fully expected that we would be welcoming our first child before our first year of marriage was out. That was the plan, and everyone knows life always goes to plan.
But plans change
We’re now well into our second year of marriage and there isn’t an olive shoot in sight. My pantry is full of vitamins and medication, my arms full of tiny needle scars from endless blood tests. Sometimes I feel like my cycle dictates everything my husband and I do.
This process has been deeply frustrating, not least because I have come to see my life as being in limbo or ‘on hold’ until we figure this out. I want a black and white answer, but fertility doesn’t work like that. Life doesn’t work like that.
Learning to enjoy the wait
The longer we wait, the more I realise that I am putting a lot of things off until we ‘know’. I tell myself I’ll write a blog when I know I’ll be a stay at home mum. I’ll invest in building new friendships when I know we’ll be staying in a particular city for the long haul.
Obviously, this isn’t a productive way to live my life. I am waiting for my olives, but that doesn’t mean I can’t write a blog or make new friends. So I brought a blogging platform so I can write creatively and learn new skills as I’ve been dreaming of doing for years. I named it Waiting for Olives to remind myself that there’s actually a lot to do in this time of waiting, and plenty of joy to be found here too.
Developing new skills
I’m using Waiting for Olives to develop new skills in writing, photography and website management. It’s also a place where I hope to share things with like-minded people that I find helpful, fun and inspiring. I’ll share what I hope will be enjoyable content on style, home and health, as well as articles about good reads, over in Book Club. You can find out a bit more on my About page too. Have an explore, and I look forward to writing for you!
