SoberMe

My Not So Secret Diary

Magic Moments

Magic Moments with my three year old son - - writing for my sobriety and recovery blog My Not So Secret Diary by Claire HatwellSometimes I have to make myself slow down. I have so much to think about, (not complaining, I know a lot of people do), but just with four kids, work, clubs, the house, etc, it feels like I have very little time for myself. Sometimes, I like a bit of quiet, a little bit of time to organise my thoughts, otherwise everything seems a little bit overwhelming. I don’t mean a lot of time, I just like a few minutes here and there. Juggling time and things means I don’t get as much as time as I’d like, which is hard. Lockdown made things a lot easier in many ways!

Anyway, I recently had the day at home with Stanley. I could easily have filled the time, and to some extent I did, I tidied and cleaned, I washed and hung the washing out to dry and got it back in again as soon as it started to rain, but then I stopped, and took my little one out for a walk. We visited the post office to drop some parcels off on the way to the park, where we had a lovely time playing. I would normally have come back after that, and ‘got on’, but instead we went for a longer walk. I took Stanley through the cemetery, I’m not morbid, I’ve always found cemeteries very soothing. I told him about the gravestones and the flowers and why they were there, and then we looked at the ruins of an old chapel in the church grounds. He was really interested and feeling his little hand in mine was magic. Afterwards spontaneously, he said, “Thank you for showing me the castle Mummy,” which means a lot, even if he got the church mixed up with a castle.

It’s such a simple thing but it’s so easy to rush through life ticking things off our to do list. It’s nice sometimes just to step off the treadmill of life and just be. No rush, no agenda, just enjoyment. I’ve never seen so many squirrels at once, and a rat which wasn’t quite as charming but Stanley liked!

The things is, we can forget, life is passing us by. There’s always something important to do, but if we don’t stop sometimes and take a moment for ourselves and our loved ones, then what really is the point?

I’m not saying work isn’t important, because it clearly is, but so too are the little things.

Much love,
Claire x

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