What a blistering few days, the weather has been amazing and Bournemouth has been packed with visitors. There are festivals and multiple events happening all over the place, it’s great to see again. It does present some problems though, the local traffic has been slow and with added road works, I can imagine some people are getting hot and bothered.
On Friday, last week, I took one of the foster kids to a beach hut (We get to book this every year for a week) and the traffic was ok so we got to the carpark feeling fairly relaxed. The carpark was already filling up but I managed to find a space and we walked 5 minutes to the hut. Once we set the chairs up, put a table out and got some music playing, we relaxed in the baking sun. After about 15 minutes I could tell that, the lad (Dave, not his real name!) who was with me, was getting bored.
I suggested we go swimming and he jumped at the chance, so we waded in, slowly and with a few sharp in-takes of breath, and we were eventually swimming about and enjoying the time. Following the swim, I got us an ice cream and drink and we sat outside the hut again, enjoying the calmness and space. I was thinking “I could stay here all day” but I could tell that Dave was getting restless again and he was probably thinking “I wish I was here with my mates!”
After spending an hour and a half at the hut, we left and we got home, Dave got changed, got a bike and went to see his mates ????. I wanted to go back to the hut but the traffic had already got so bad, I thought better of it.
It was a beautiful setting, fantastic weather but our perspectives were different. Dave wanted to go to the beach hut and have some fun and I wanted to go there to relax and chill out. The same setting but different experiences and it made me think of how I’ve changed. I never wanted to sit down for longer than 5 minutes when I was Dave’s age and I always wanted to be kicking a football around or fooling about with mates, so why did I think he’d enjoy just sitting down with me?
On Saturday, I decided to go to the New Forest, on the motorbike, and enjoy a different scenery
and go the opposite way to the growing queues heading to the beach. I stopped to get an ice cream by a stream and there was a family sitting along the bank and the kids were playing and splashing about in the water. All I could hear was the two young lads fighting and arguing, moaning at each other. Such a beautiful place that would have been an ideal place to rest and it was ruined by a couple of people arguing.
I looked across at the family and smiled. It reminded me of all the times, as a parent, we took our kids somewhere nice and the experience was tense and, probably shorter than planned, due to a difference in perspective or appreciation. We still get those moments with the grandkids though!
Me and Sandra (My wife) appreciate different things now and look for settings where we can find them. We try to find environments that we can relax and be in the moment, that appreciation of the world and life itself. We also know that life is never ‘perfect’ and there are others to take into consideration but with good planning and, being really fussy about who you invite along, it is possible to satisfy most people, even when the setting isn’t perfect.
Three ‘top tips’ for an even better life:
- Appreciate all you have
- Respect the differences of others
- Enjoy every experience
Have a great week, whatever your environment!