the climbing tree portrait

An Introduction

Hello! I’m Talia, and this is my blog.

I’ve been blogging with WordPress since 2005, and this little blog is my latest re-invention. I’ll get into more of that later, but first let me do the normal instructions.

I’m married and have three kids. We live in Brisbane, QLD, Australia. A beautiful part of the world. We homeschool, and are lovers of the outdoors and nature. We recently made a big God-driven move to Brisbane to start attending an Orthodox Synagogue. Our experience so far has been really positive, and we’re grateful for the way this community has welcomed us, and for the things we are constantly learning about ourselves.

Some of you will be here because you’ve followed The Climbing Tree for many years, but when you get here you’ll notice that there’s (practically) no content left here! Perhaps you’re wondering why that is. Towards the end of 2016 and into the start of 2017 I had a case of burnout. I was unable to stay awake past 10am (but you know, there’s only so much napping with you can do with 3 kids under 4, so I would power on…) and my whole body felt heavy. My doctor did some surveys and tests and my stress and anxiety were off the chart (not ACTUALLY off the chart – just really high!), and so I took a break. Actually, I went a little crazy, and I deleted everything on this blog, and I deleted everything from my Facebook, and all sorts of things. That’s a bit of another conversation though.

Looking back now, almost a year since this first started, but probably 8 months since I actually acted on it, this was all part of the breaking away from the “old me” to embrace the new purpose and life Hashem has for me. A bit of a cocoon situation, you know? I’m sure I’ll talk about that more in future blog posts.

This blog isn’t necessarily a religious blog, but in all honestly, this is such a huge part of my life, that even when I try to just talk about homeschooling I end up talking about the parasha studies the kids are doing. Even just about art journaling seems to focus on spiritual matters. Not that I’m complaining!

I’m not here to teach you – even though I am, and always will be a teacher, my focus has to be on teaching my children as we homeschool, and learning about God through the lens of Judaism. This is my calling right now,  and perhaps one day I will be at a place to teach adults. For now I just want to share my life here on this blog and the things that I’m learning and doing. 🙂

2 thoughts on “An Introduction

  1. Kelsbells

    I love love reading your stories. Your life is so different to mine, and even though I may not share the same beliefs I love that you have always been respectful of that. I just love seeing and learning more about yours, again from a curious and respectful manner. I’m amazed by your dedication, and intrigued by your faith.

    I’m sorry to hear you burned out and I hope Brisbane, the remainder of 2017 and 2018 are much kinder to you. I’m still going to be a dedicated reader watching with curiosity. All the best xx

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