Stop. Play. Pause. Be happy.

Last week was a rough one for me. I was soooo tired. A little bit sad and reflective. A little touched out. A little over mothering. I don't get many chances to be on my own, to just stop and be responsible just for myself, no-one else. That responsibility can weigh on you. It can make you feel trapped. It can make you feel old.

Then May came and it seemed like a fresh start, as May often does. I decided to get on with it and lighten up. To just try and be happy. I decided to connect with my owlets. To meet them at their level a little more. To stop and play. Just like yesterday's post. On Tuesday, I wandered onto the playground equipment with Tiny holding fast to my finger. I followed her around and took the slide with her whooping and giggling behind me. Then yesterday I stopped with Little Owlet for just a moment. Now I see  Big Owlet finding herself awkward with play, I feel like I need to show her that it's ok to play at any age... And reading Kate's post on doing something everyday in May, about fresh starts and all that. Well, it got me thinking.



Today we woke up to heavy rain. It was pounding on the roof and coming down sideways... Huz bravely headed off to the bus with a large umbrella... Big Owlet wanted to light the fire and the little ones wanted to come outside and get wood. So we put on all our layers of wet weather gear and gumboots and a visit to the woodpile turned into a walk around the block...



Which really was just a search for puddles to jump in. A neighbour wandered past exclaiming what wonderful fun we looked to be having. We were!



We stopped to play. We jumped and splashed. My splashes were the biggest.



We paused for a moment. We laughed and we've taken that happiness into the rest of the day with us. I don't feel so old and grumpy or trapped anymore. I feel calmer and more relaxed. Happier.



I think these owlets are onto something. They usually are. We all know who's teaching who here.



So, for every day in May, I'm going to stop and play. I'm going to pause for a minute to acknowledge it and I'm going to be happy.



Would you like to try and stop to play more? Are you going to do something every day in May, like Kate? What makes you happy? xx