The theme these past school holidays seemed to be – Enjoy the journey 🏞

I feel like I always try to enjoy the journey and be present in the moment. But sometimes the realisation that you aren’t actually present slaps you in the face when you least expect it – it’s not about trying it’s about being.

So on a recent long walk all of the kids at some point complained, about the walk and about how tired they were. But what I noticed was, at every break we took, they sat down only for a couple of minutes then jumped up and were playing in the bush or stream, chasing each other around and just seemed to have lots of energy. They didn’t care about “getting there”, that was all me (sometimes that just comes as part of being responsible).

I was like 💡 “ah huh” they actually just want to play.

So factor in more time to be playful/imaginative while hiking … the track times are good as guides for how much walking needs to be done, but why not factor in an extra hour or two to really make something of the journey. The boys ended up being Amazonian Farmers and the girls made up new names for themselves and had a whole story going about the adventure. Distraction can sometimes take away from a moment, and quiet reflective walking is not really going to last long for the kids.  Maybe a mix of all of them is the best recipe.

I don’t know about you but I find “playing” with my children hard – we are just not on the same level …. But these past school holidays, I took more stops, played in the waves, swam in the cold streams, did bombs off the jetty, danced like no-one was watching (much to my children’s embarrassment). Therefore – I smiled more, laughed more and connected with my kids on a whole other level.

Kids really can teach you so much, when you truly open up!

Anita ✌️🥜🌿

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