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Unwinding after HEFF: A Journey from Festival to Family Time | Day 235 of my 2023 Journal

Cecilie Conrad·Aug 23, 2023

It is some project to come down from a festival. I wonder how many people were at HEFF this year. It felt like sooooo many.

The day we left, our kids hung out in the grass for hours and hours, with one of my dogs as their center. I was relieved not to have a tent to pack down. The van might be small and sometimes uncomfortable, but I love that I can simply start the motor and go. It is amazing.

All morning was goodbyes. For some reason, this was the first day of the festival; I took my time to do my yoga. All the other days, I had been too overwhelmed to find inner space for it, but on the last morning, when everyone else was packing down their amazing setups, it seemed I had the time to go through the yoga program slowly.

It might also have been a way to handle the come-down.

Wuau. It has been a great week. Full of people and workshops and music and conversations. And now it will be a full year before it happens again.

We had the pleasure of driving off with Sascha’s family, spending all afternoon and evening, and the following day with some of our great friends, an excellent way to exit the vibe of hundreds of people. Sascha also saw clearly how we needed to prioritize a few days of peace and helped us to say no to the different invitations we had pending so we could find a way to slow down a bit.

We were all tired, and all enjoyed washing all of our clothes, laughing, sharing a few meals, playing cards and pool, and talking until it was dark and cold and game over … until the next morning when it again was light, and there was coffee and breakfast.

It is lovely to have loving friends who see straight through you. Especially when they know how to help, this was just the perfect way to move on, and we are grateful.

Love and light

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Cecilie Conrad

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Unschooling and Parent consulting, conversations, blogposts, and podcasts on family life and learning

Hi, I'm Cecilie Conrad. I'm a trained psychologist, mother of four, radical unschooler and full-time traveller. I have lived with unschooling for over a decade and help other families find their own path – whether it is about homeschooling, unschooling, or the bigger question of how you want to live as a family.

I offer guidance, conversations and talks. I call my work grandmothering – not coaching in the traditional sense, but presence, professional insight and concrete help navigating motherhood and finding your way home to your own values.

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