What will be your best moment today?

 

I picked up this theme from a lovely blog written by Emma Clarke Lamb , who in turn had picked up the idea from Benjamin Brooks Dutton.

It got me thinking.

If we take a moment at the end of the day to think “What was my best moment today?”, how much more positive our outlook on the day and indeed the day ahead may be.

I’ve been trying this exercise for a short while and I’m really enjoying the thought process.

Your first thought of what was the absolute best bit can sometimes be surprising. In a day when lots of nice things have happened (yesterday was the first day of my family holiday in Cornwall) it’s interesting to see what particular moment your brain computes as being the best.

It’s then really nice to contemplate all the lovely things that you have enjoyed that day and just run them over in your mind re-living the best bits and having little time for consideration of things that went wrong, the bad or frustrating moments.

It seems to put things into a better perspective, even for the most mundane of 9 to 5 days.

Over my five day trial of this idea these have been my best moments:

• Picking up my daughter from Par station in Cornwall and seeing her look so healthy and bright.

• Helping my son Tom to build a den in the woods when out on a dog walk.

• Meeting one of my long standing customers for the first time and talking more about books than gas and electricity.

• Sitting on a rug with Jo and Tom watching As You Like it at Caversham Court, Reading, and seeing them really engage with the play

• Hearing Tom and his friend laughing in the garden as they ran around being spies.

• Hearing and then watching 120 geese go past the boat at 5am when we were moored up at Medmenham.

Over the last few days things have been pretty smooth so there have been lots of great moments but when you ask your brain to pick out one it’s almost like a game with yourself.

I have so far found that all the best moments to be free. OK I was on the river but I could equally have been in a tent. Yes I was at an outdoor theatre but the best bit was seeing my children enjoying it.

The point of this exercise is to treasure the great moments in the day, not to hold onto them forever and get sentimental or reminiscent but to recognise them when they happen and realise even a bad day can have some gems. You don’t have to be seeking a fabulous time all the time – that’s unrealistic and not very fulfilling but to see the best moments again just before you fall asleep is wonderful.

 

 

My Summer Solstice Resolutions

My sound track to this blog is Summer Time sung by the one and only Billie Holiday - just to get you in the mood.

I love this time of year, not only is it my birthday in June but it really reminds me that any time is a good time to rejuvenate and re motivate.

I’ve decided to set myself some goals for the summer but these ones will be all about enjoying the moment, cherishing each hour of each day and literally holding on to summer.

Summer is so short, last year was a good one but I think we still only had about 40 days of nice weather, tops, that’s out of 365!

I recently wrote about getting up early simply to have more summertime. The hours from 5 to 7 in the morning are some of the sparkliest and most vivid, I can strongly recommend an early morning walk, may be once a week or fortnight just so you don’t miss this really special season. Or if you’re more of a night owl staying up late to see the new dawn is priceless.

Next on my goals list is family. I wish I lived closer to my sisters and now my eldest daughter lives abroad I miss her too. So I need to actively carve out time to see them all. Fortunately my eldest sister has just bought a holiday house in Cornwall and my family is going to be amongst the first guests, so I’ve invited my sis to join us for the first few days of our holiday.

As for going to Amsterdam, I’ve earmarked some dates and I have my eye on flights. Fe-line trip to Amsterdam anyone?

Personal fitness, I have two challenges in the diary sandwiching summer, one is next weekend where I will be walking from the coast to the border of Wales, 42 miles in one day. I did it last year and although exhausting it was such a brilliant experience. And I will be with my youngest sister Helen. The next challenge is mid September so I will have to keep up my fitness levels. I’ll be doing a half marathon off road and the route is very hilly. The event is called Beauty and the Beast and is in West Wycombe. If any Fe-liners would like to sign up, the more girls the merrier as I think it’s going to be quite a testosterone charged day. I’ll also be raising money for the Ley Community.

Food is on the list too. I love summer salads but by September the weather’s getting cooler and summer food seems to lose it’s appeal all too quickly. I always feel I should have made more of the food only available in this short season. So I’m selecting 5 yummy ingredients to have a lot of each week. This week it’s asparagus, broad beans, baby carrots, spring onions, and seeds (I’ve gone mad on them).

I’m also looking to cook 2 new meals each week right through until September. This is going to be a challenge as most nights I’ve fallen into the rut of having barbequed chicken and salad.

Last on the list is out door theatre. I had a lovely night at Hall Barn out door theatre, Beaconsfield to see As You Like It. I took my mum, daughter Jo and son Tom who is only 7. Tom loved it and laughed his head off most of the way through to the delight of the older ladies sat in front and behind us. He definitely wants to go and see more Shakespeare. So if you know any good outdoor theatre events on this summer please leave a comment below.

Let me know what you are shoe-horning into your summer time!

Lots of love

 

 

 

Xx