Back to Basics

This past week I took a road trip with my boys.  At just 2 ½ and 4 ½ there aren’t too many activities that they can do in the car, so I packed the trusty old coloring books and 8-color crayons.

But as the week continued and their interest in the new books waned, I found myself grabbing a book and a few colors myself. 

There is something so cathartic about returning to activities that used to give us such joy.  Choosing which color should go where, whether I’d go with traditional schemes (i.e. blue sky, green grass) or perhaps feeling inspired to decorate in psychedelic hues that might give my kids pause when they see what mummy has done. These simple choices, watching color spread quickly, rewarding my eyes and imagination, are often the elixir that can give me true relaxation.

Life isn’t always easy, but that’s not to say that getting a bit of relief should be hard.  When we let go of the grown up world, even for a few minutes, we can sometimes find our way back to a joy that touches us deep down and can allow us to refill our emotional reservoir.

My advice for the week?  Dig around in the cupboard for some good old fashioned fun: jump rope, hula hoop, Play Doh or just some blank paper and colored pencils – give your inner child a bit of play time and see how quickly the smile can return to your face!