Note to new readers: This post is part of my 30 Days of Writing Practice. I am allowing blocks of 10, 20 or 30 minutes of my day solely to putting my swirling thoughts on paper. No going back to edit which will only serve to stop the stream of consciousness. My writing buddy Kat and I, we call it writing from the heart. Please read my introduction for the full story.
It’s been three weekends in a row that we didn’t do anything outdoorsy. The last time was bike riding at the Olympic Park, all four of us. Dad and Migo on a tandem bike. That was fun! So I thought that being a Mother’s Day weekend, we must go out again. Hiking. I talked at length about the essence of family time together. Read about it here. And come back to this post when you finish. If you tell me that you want to come along to our next hike, I’ll probably just smile wistfully and nod. The truth is I am very selfish with my family time. There’s family time and there’s social time. I just find that when I do things with both family and friends present, my attention is divided. Actually, my attention shifts to chatting with friends rather than chatting with my boys. So there…
I announced during dinner last week that we were going hiking this Saturday. In our household, we allow a few days’ notice to announce activities involving everyone. Dad and Son #2 both need a least 48 hours notice, longer if possible. Seriously. Like father like son eh. Also another rule. If it ain’t in the calendar, it ain’t happening, babe. Right. So I have to painstakingly record all our appointments into our Gmail calendar. That includes Son #2’s calendar. In a busy household, this works pretty well. The upside is, everybody knows what’s coming up. There are no missed appointments and no excuses for forgetting. The downside? There’s no spontaneity!
I gave the bloke free rein in our hiking destination this time. You see, I normally pick our hiking locations. I usually choose the ones with sweeping coastal water views for that picturesque photo backdrop, but of course. That usually means driving far and often across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Ariel has other ideas this time. After browsing our hiking guidebook he decides on a bushwalk at Harold Reid Reserve. This reserve is right in the middle of Chatswood CBD. There’s bushland with waterways snaking around it. And mangroves with oysters. Very quiet. Shady, serene, peaceful. ‘Twas just perfect. The circuit was 5km long, the grade I thought was medium. The guidebook said it was easy. Yeah right. We navigated heaps of uphill inclines. My heart rate went up. I sweated in a cool autumn day. Ariel and I felt tightness in our calves later. But it was good. It’s good to be alive. Lunch was nearby at Chatswood Chase. Too easy.
Here is our bushwalk in pictures. And at the end of it is a video of caterpillars that still gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.
I shared this video to Girlfriend #1. Her son went on to say “They’re caterpillars in a group travelling/moving together. They do this when they hatch and shed their egg”. I believe him, what else could it be?
Chiqui Pineda-Azimi says
I was there!!! An unwelcome saling pusa, albeit a very quiet and invisible one!
myglorybox.com says
Excuse me, Chiquinini. Yes you were invisible, but you (and I) were not quiet 🙂 LOL. Sama ka ulit sa susunod?
Norberto says
funny that google calendar. however I have to agree separating family time with social time is a great idea.