Making Memories

Everyday life can so easily become stressful and overwhelming. We can get so 'bogged down' by dealing with the difficulties and obstacles, that we simply forget what’s most important. I’ve had a couple of challenging things to deal with myself in the last few days. However; yesterday I had one of those epiphanies.

First, I processed my emotions and thoughts; then empowered myself by taking some positive action. During this time; I also had a strong realisation that I needed to get back to enjoying some quality family time; making memories in the simplest of ways. I quickly got to work preparing a simple picnic; packing everything into a cool bag; along with a picnic blanket. I then collected the children from school and nursery, before we went straight to the park. We sat on a piece of open green space away from the main play equipment surrounded by several trees; enjoying our time in nature. The children could run about and feel free; in the sunshine and I could sit relax in the open air without being surrounded by and reminded of all of the jobs that needed doing back home.

We then enjoyed a light, healthy tea with a couple of treats thrown in! We stayed out for a couple of hours enjoying the sunshine and then headed home for ice-lollies and ice-creams from the freezer. The children were really happy to have done something out of our usual routine mid-week.

This week I have also been inspired with some other simple activities that I've planned for ready for the weekend; to create even more positive memories. This weekend, we will be planting sunflower seeds in little pots with each child's name. Apparently, the children would like to see who can grow the tallest sunflower! We’ll also be heading out for another family picnic; but this time even more leisurely, and with a few more grown-up treats as my partner will also be joining us. Finally, I’ve bought items for a simple family BBQ as this is something we haven’t really done in this house, so it's definitely been a while! Certainly my youngest can’t ever remember having cooked a meal outside, so he is really excited about the prospect.

Looking back, the things I remember with most fondness as a child are the simple things; like family picnics, Saturday night family tea gathered around the TV with toasted sandwiches, and the rare trips out to the park, beach or river, with a very occasional ice-cream. I’m aiming now to try my best moving forward; to focus less on the everyday stress and worries, and more on creating simple ways to bring magic and memories to my children’s lives.

As I’ve said before; I also believe it’s really important as adults to reduce our stress levels overall and spend time appreciating and savouring what we have in the here and now. Obviously, some of this is so much easier when the weather is better. In different seasons it just requires another approach. My children, like most, are quite resourceful with junk modelling, crafting and baking, or simply creating dens to hang out in under tables… but more about that another time.

For now, we’ll make the most of a weekend of sunshine expected in this area; not overly hot, but not cold; just right for the children to spend plenty of time outdoors.

Have a great weekend everyone. Try to get going with making more memories and appreciating special moments with gratitude!

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