The summer holidays are almost gone and its unbelievable how fast they have went. Our summer started off with great intentions and so many ideas to travel Scotland. That didn’t happen, in fact the furthest we got was 1 hour each way of our home, not that the kids have noticed the difference.
Our summer list consitsts of things we never planned and some of the best memories. Things you wouldnt even think were amazing, are the best days for the kids. Also remeberering to write each event for the day has been pretty helpful for loosing the guilt. We all feel it if were having an off day or theres something outwith our control going on, but asking the kids at the end of the day which bits they have enjoyed the most is surprising.
- Beach
- rockpooling
- planting veg
- picnic in the park
- busy bees,high five club
- summer camp
- bruch @spotty
- Breakfast @baobab
- Cadonas/go karts
- play @gran and papas
- mini-birthday party with grandad
- Tarlair with friends, finding crabs
- Beach walk
- beach again
- Helping gran and papa
- Lunch and walk with friends
- Play with Marnie
- Pool
- Lego
- Supper@the park
- bike run
- building pentagons
- Dance party
- Park with fran
- Macduff Aquarium
- Fyvie castle
- Huntly pool
- Asda cafe
- Playing with kittens
- Day with cousins
- Play @gran and papas
- Play with nanny @beach
- see Billy and Poppy
- Supper with Friends
- Supper with cousins
- Farm bike run X2
- BBQ on the beach
- Late night with the boys
- Bike around banff X3
- Banff pool
- Drawing and glue day
- Cartwheel practice
- Beach hunting
- Feeding the ducks
- Ice cream X1000
- Blackpots and ice cream
- Jewelry hunting
- Bumper boats
- Carosel and tea cups
- Cosmo
- Football with cousins
- Play with Alf and G
- Fun fair
- Smugglers cove
- Found birds nest
- Waulkmill farm
- Supper with friends
- seen the dolphins
- met the geese and ducks
- run in grannys van
Our list is not over, but I dont imagine it gets much more exciting than this. Most of our time have been spent seeing those we love. Oh and constantly reminding the kids not to kill each other before they go back to school.
The big ideas and plans we had for the holidays gained a million reasons for not going and I dont mind, one of the best summers we had was during lockdown. You couldnt really go anywhere and you were limited to what your imagination could produce. In fact Lockdown is the reason I ended up writing about anything. It became the only way to keep track of my sanity and fill my day with stuff that the kids would enjoy, or not depending on how many sweets I had thrown at them that day.
(I still have this obscenly long lockdown diary, Im editing into a book, to keep in the bathroom and use as loo roll if things become really dire again.)
Anyway the point of this was that documenting anything and everything no matter how small can come in very useful. In fact I use my photo album on my phone to remind me of exact dates and conversations, you know just incase I need to prove someone wrong.
As a kid it was songs, my memory for certain subjects was terrible so having friends who were as weird as I was, made for some ridiculous dancing in the exam hall and outbursts in class forgetting I wasnt a party and was still in maths or biology or art. Well pretty much every class I had.
Not going to lie, school feels like forever ago and I could never have imaged myself where I am now, or my friends where they are infact. Hell im still with the same guy I was with in school. You would think I didnt like change or something.
I know this isnt the case, but a really strange thought hit me the other day at the beach. Im standing with my friend nailing a windbreak into the sand thinking, where did we learn how to do this? I couldnt work it out and was questioning who and what prepared us for growing up, being mums and planning beach trips with enough precision to bring wind breaks and BBQs, not to mention the million other notable items that were definetly essential…
Where do we learn it? It wasnt something I had really done as a child so Im guessing when you become a mum, you just show up with confidence and make your kids believe youve got it. Essentially winging it and making anything work. Infact “Ive got this” is a common phrase that im passing onto my kids by accident and it envokes their false confidence when they really dont know if they can.
I hope when they grow up and think of me, that phrase pops into their head and they carry on with confidence, be it starting a new job, a date or robbing a bank.
I hope you have had a glorious summer and have at least one happy memory.
Also feel free to share: What will be the phrase your kids will remember you by?
As Marnie is getting more characterful, I imagine she will remember me by “Mummy doesn’t want you to do that Marnie, why don’t we do this instead”
“get down”
“let go”
“No biting”
?