Photo by: Claire Bouvier
Dear Mommas,
With Mother’s Day last weekend and having family in town this week, I have been reflecting on my past, my childhood and the way that I was brought up. My parents did such an incredible job of instilling a healthy lifestyle for us from the get go. Looking back on my childhood days has given me a whole new appreciation for the amazing family that I am blessed with.
Travel and the outdoors were always valued in my family. During our late teens and early twenties, we started a family tradition of completing one adventure trip every year. My parents’ dream was to complete as many challenging trips as they could, before they couldn’t.
From hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro to canoeing the Nahanni River, I was fortunate enough to experience such incredible, active adventures. These world wide experiences that my parents so graciously gave me have not only created a passion for an active lifestyle, but more importantly an extreme appreciation for different cultures, religions and ways of life.
We grew up with little and my father worked long hours to make ends meet for his five daughters. My mother was incredible at creating games and activities for us girls, allowing our imaginations run wild! She sewed us butterfly wings out of scraps of fabric, horsetails out of old pillowcases and my all-time favorite: princess crowns out of dandelions.
We played from sun up to sun down every day, dreading when we had to come in for meals or bath time. I miss the sheer simplicity of activity and play. With Ipads, Iphones, Icomputers, IEVERYTHING, I fear as though we have lost much of our imagination, activity, PLAY!
I am far from perfect and find myself plopping Sophie and Liv in front of “Baby Mozart” from time to time! However, I hope I can replicate these incredible memories for my children. I feel sad that technology has taken precedence over play. My goal is for my daughters and I to inspire you to get back to what matters and simply “play.”
I challenge you this weekend to log out, shut down, disconnect and get your kids out and simply “play,” the way a child should…
Such an incredible gift we can give as Mothers.
Kelly, S & O xo
