Running a family, like running a business, can be hard work. Sometimes you need a little time off, and the best way to do that is to take a little time off together, even if it’s just a happy holiday at home
You know those stock photographs tagged with scintillating descriptions like “family”, “holiday”, and “family fun”? They’re so cute. You’ll see families riding bicycles, laughing at their salad, or watching a movie on a TV that’s bigger than their house.
We are not that family.
My husband and I work, on average, a six-day week. I run my own business, and he jumps between the different parts of his career, across industries and sectors. Sometimes, we get to enjoy our hobbies. He goes to band practice, and I finish word puzzles. Every now and then, we get a wonderful day together, where it’s just us, the child, and our dogs.
Stock photography would have you believe that we spend those special days in the park, under dappled sunlight, flinging a frisbee around.
Reality will tell you that our best days together are the ones we spend sprawled across the couch, still in our pyjamas at 3pm, and picking pizza crumbs out of our navels, while watching episode after episode of Fawlty Towers.
These are my favourite days. We don’t have to be somewhere, do something, see someone, or leave the house. These are the days where the conversation flows easily, and where I might feel inspired to bake.
I said “feel inspired”, dear readers; I did not say I actually go into the kitchen and whip up a double chocolate frosted sponge cake. That is not who I am.
If we’re feeling adventurous, we pick a new restaurant to try for dinner that evening. My daughter’s grown up in restaurants, if I must confess. From very little, I had her beside me in everywhere from a Spur to fine dining establishments.
She was never one for careening across the slippery floors and getting in the way of people. Instead, she’s become a bit of a stickler for food herself. We’ll call her a mini-critic, because she can spot a good pizza from five paces, and she’s never been afraid of turning down the kids’ menu, in favour of something far more nutritious.
If restaurants are our adventures, then our home is our sanctuary. It’s here that we’ll spend most of those quiet days, together. My ever-growing daughter and I might conjure up a project for the day. “Let’s re-organise this room! Let’s move these things around! Let’s haul out all the old photo albums and talk about our family history!”
Or, if we’re feeling altogether slothful, it’s a race to the couch for who gets the best spot, and who picks the movie. Sometimes, if we’re exceptionally lucky, our dogs will even let us enjoy the full couch experience, instead of snuggling in with us. Sometimes, but not often.
Perhaps you find this lazy, and that’s okay. It’s through the medium of movies, music, and more, that my husband and I have shared our childhood experiences with my daughter. She can quote, verbatim, nearly every important John Cleese line, and she’s seen almost every movie that made an impact on our lives.
In the same way, she shares things she’s discovered online with us, Instagram celebrities included, and we get to learn more about what’s happening in the real wilds of the tween mind.
These are my favourite days. The ones where we’re together, and nobody needs us to be anything other than the terrific pyjama models we were destined to be. You can keep your picnics and frisbees, I’m at my best on the couch.
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