It’s officially autumn, but because summer took its time arriving here in the Netherlands, autumn, too, seems to be running a few weeks late.
As someone who thrives in the warmth of summer, I don’t mind one bit. I’d happily embrace mild weather year-round.
But as I reflect on this, I realize it’s not entirely true. My body is already preparing for the arrival of fall and winter. It feels as if the shutters are slowly closing—unlike the summer, when they are flung wide open. Now, I find myself retreating, though for now, it’s only in my thoughts. It’s as if my body is whispering, “Get ready; the winter is coming.”
The good old three R’s
This morning, when we woke at 7 a.m., it was still dark. Yesterday, the sun greeted us at dawn, but today was different—gray and rainy, which certainly doesn’t help with the light. Yet what struck me most was the morning darkness. And in that moment, it felt official to me: autumn had truly arrived.
Over the weekend, I read an article by Wilma de Rek, advocating for the return of the “good old three R’s”—a traditional Dutch concept standing for Rest, Cleanliness, and Routine (Rust, Reinheid, and Regelmaat in Dutch). Three simple words, all beginning with ‘R’, that have long been a guiding principle for children. I read the piece with nostalgia, as these three R’s were my motto when Finn was born, words of wisdom from a distant past: “Children need rest, cleanliness, and routine.” And as I reflect, I wonder—why just children? Don’t adults need the same?
Simplicity and routine
The three R’s sound horribly old-fashioned, even condescending, but perhaps they hold more relevance than I thought when I was younger. I find myself, in this stage of life, craving more rest, more order, and more predictability. With busy days filled with plans and obligations, rest is essential to keep going, and simplicity and routine provide the rhythm needed to maintain balance. The three R’s reflect a yearning for calm over chaos, for clarity over stress, for predictability in an increasingly unpredictable world. And as I approach menopause, chaos and disorder are less and less welcome. I need a solid foundation to support a life that feels comfortable and peaceful—because if there’s one thing more important than ever, it’s rest. In today’s hectic world, filled with endless screens and to-do lists, rest has become a luxury.
A healthy routine
As I continued reading the article, I came across a section I had hoped to find—the one discussing our biological clock. It validated the feeling I had this morning, waking up in the dark and wondering if this was how it should be. The societal clock, as ancient wisdom suggested, should really be aligned with the rising and setting of the sun, because clocks, after all, are a human invention. But we, too, thrive when we follow the rhythms of nature.
A healthy routine is a flexible one, one that breathes with the seasons, and also with the cycles of life – teenagers and young adults are almost always night owls, while in older age the rhythm becomes a bit irregular, and, in general, everyone’s biological clock runs a little differently. The sunlight resets all those clocks, day after day, according to the article by Wilma.
A bit of history
The concept of the three R’s was introduced by Aafke Gesina van Hulst, known as Sien, born in 1868, the eldest daughter of a Mennonite tile manufacturer and his socially active wife. Over time, Sien’s ideas have been adapted to modern life, but the core of her philosophy remains true. Our biological clock—this tiny command center in the brain that governs our body’s rhythm—also responds to the seasons. So, perhaps it’s not such a bad idea to listen more closely to our bodies as the seasons change. Routine remains flexible, adapting to the cycles of nature rather than the rigid societal clock.
“It really resonates with me: no alarms at 7 a.m. during the winter months, and perhaps waking an hour earlier during the summer months. I’d much rather linger in bed when it’s dark outside and be up when the sun rises. And maybe this is all because I’m getting older, and my need for rest, cleanliness, and routine has grown stronger. That must be it—because ten years ago, I would have laughed if I’d written these words. Nothing is more changeable than a human being.
Tomorrow the alarm will go off at 7 a.m. again, and tonight, when the sun sets around 8 p.m., I’ll swipe through my phone for another hour to see what the rest of the world is up to.
