My daughter and I spent the solstice in the heart of Paris, first at the Swedish Cultural Center with its May pole, childrens' songs and dances, flower wreaths on their heads...and then moved from courtyard opera concerts to street corner jazz with masses of friends and Parisians as June 21 is also the Fete de la Musique. Summer has officially begun!
This post is just a reminder to all (and to myself) to take some time out and do absolutely nothing for a short time. Go somewhere with no cell phone reception, nor email, nor television! Listen to your kids. Get bored with them! And then watch as slowly you all figure out something fun and creative to do...that costs nothing at all but a few hours of your time. Learn to deeply relax as you did when you were a child and woke up after a good night's rest and felt excited to start the day.
Forget the financial crisis, learn to identify the names of plants around you, have a picnic, teach yourself and your child the names of constellations...remember the things we did as children that did not involve technology, nor even electricity?
Thanks to the financial crisis, the summer camp I signed my child up for went bankrupt! So now I happily am bringing her with me for a two-week work and pleasure trip and we have nothing planned which is great! We can discover people and places and foods. Living without a schedule is the greatest freedom of all.
The best things in life are indeed free. Maybe all the craziness of the past year can remind us how to focus on what matters again. There are so many books to read, daydreams to experience, sunny afternoons to take advantage of...time to just be. When is the last time you really noticed the breeze on your skin, or looked at your child's face and noticed that he or she is changing, growing up...this won't last forever, so enjoy it now!
Have a great summertime everyone, and remember how lucky you are!