Yesterday, I celebrated my 3rd Mother’s Day and now that I’m a mother of two, I decided to start our own family tradition of taking a long walk in the park and spending time outdoors as a family. I like it because since the boys are still young, it was a nice, quiet stroll and a good chance for my husband and I to talk and catch up on things we don’t get to talk about during the week. Mostly, we talked about and revisited our short term goals, brainstormed different activities we want to do this summer with the kids, and enjoyed each other’s company. For my oldest son Liam, it’s always a good chance to see all kinds of different dogs walking in the park, and enjoy the view of nature. And for the little one, well, yesterday’s weather lent itself to a nice, breezy nap with birds chirping in the background. As the kids get older and we continue this tradition, we can do different things in the park, like biking or fishing (there’s a small lake in the park for that) or having a picnic, depending on their age and on what everyone is in the mood for.
Walking in the park might not sound like a big deal, but what was important to me on this day was to spend time as a family in a simple way without putting too much pressure on an activity or time frame (it only took us two hours to get ready and leave the house this time). I have never been big on celebrating holidays or anniversaries, but now that I have kids, I realize how important it is to document different milestones or dates. How important it is for me to live in the present, to live each day fully and spend time with my boys, even if it is doing something as simple as walking in the park or going out for ice cream. Because each little thing that I do with them is a memory that I will cherish forever and I hope that they will too (even if they are too young to remember). As I write this, I can’t help but think about the movie “Inside Out” (if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it) and how I want to fill my kids with infinite joyous “core memories” for them to have and store in Long Term :). So while our Mother’s day tradition is still not a big celebration, it is a small droplet that’s added to our life bucket and our family legacy.
How do you celebrate Mother’s day?
