This episode is a little different.

I’m scrolling back through my camera roll from 2016 and talking out loud about what comes up. There’s no plan and no tidy storyline — just memories, moments, and the things I notice now that I didn’t have words for at the time.

In 2016, life was full and heavy. I had young children, we were early into farm ownership, and most days were about getting through rather than slowing down. Looking back now, I can see how much I was carrying — the pressure to do everything “right”, the weight of expectation, the way I shut down emotionally just to keep functioning.

This episode isn’t about lessons or advice. It’s about sitting with a season as it really was, noticing who I was then, and offering a bit of compassion to that version of myself.

If you’ve ever looked back at a past season and realised you were carrying more than you knew at the time, this episode is for you.

• Scrolling through my 2016 photos in real time
  
• Life in a full demanding season with young children and farm life
  
• The pressure I felt to be the “perfect” woman and mother
  
• Comparison, milestones, and quiet guilt
  
• Winter sickness, exhaustion, and long nights
  
• What connection looked like in survival mode
  
• Finding small outlets that kept me going
  
• Hospital stays, premature birth, and emotional shutdown
  
• Looking back with compassion instead of judgement

Connect with Jess:

@thejess.knight

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