Picture a Monday morning casual conversation with a colleague
“How was the weekend”
“Good, good..”
“ What did you do?”
“ Oh, nothing really! Two days just flew by!”
We read a lot about slowing down and how it helps us reconnect to ourselves, our family , nature and whatever we care about. In all honesty, although I did nothing over the weekends I still didn’t up feeling very connected with myself or my family or nature ( or any big sounding ideal in my life!). Weekends are about waking late, spending time with kids ( mostly just umpiring), taking kids to extra- curricular classes, buying groceries etc. About 4 months ago, my husband and I decided to sit down and take a stock of our lives. We discussed our vision for the future and what how we need to support our kids. In addition to all that we also discussed, why we felt so exhausted with our lives. We felt that we weren’t doing anything as a family and may be that will help us connect.
The ritual we came up with is quite simple, We wake early on Saturday ( I know, this is a little tough) and take a 3 hour ride to any destination that has a lot of open space and we could use our bicycles. The crisp morning air and watching the scenery once we hit the outskirts of the city, honestly helps me reconnect with myself. There are a few occasional conversations, but our kids are usually looking outside and we are just happy to be! Once we hit the chosen spot, we cycle for a bit and eat packed breakfast and hit the road again and reach home. The whole family comes back connected and fresh.
I have noticed a few things that have happened- some very positive changes in the family. By Thursday, the house is discussing about destination options , mostly my husband and I pick a few spots and the kids decide one of them. My younger one, who is a bit of a foodie , starts talking about breakfast options as early as Wednesday! The cycling outside, gives the whole family much needed physical activity. We are tired by the time we reach home, we sleep early and wake early on Sundays too. We feel like we are actively working on building some good memories for our children that they can talk about fondly when they grow up.
These days when someone asks me ,” How was the weekend?” They really need to spare sometime for a long conversation!
About the Author:
Niranjana Reddy — Mother of two sons | Software Engineer | Loves to cycle| Expert Cook | TV Junkie
As our family support structures fall apart, because we live in different cities, we noted that many young parents are exhausted even as the day just begins. Some have managed to find a way to cope or better yet be happy. Ekdali reaches out to parents every week to find out what they do to beat this trend! This post is the first in a series of 10. Do reach out to care@ekdali.com if you want your story to be published in our blog
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