The Ordinary Moments 2016 #26 – Cruising the Canal

I love that in life we always have opportunities to try new things and these are even greater when it is shared with our loved ones. Yesterday we had few plans and as life can be none stop I do quite enjoy the odd family day where we have no plans and end up doing something a little spontaneous, fun and new. I find that they can often be the days we look back on that hold some of the most memorable moments, and I’d say that yesterday turned into one of those; a fairly ordinary day but with moments of new adventures…it began after a brief moment on Twitter on the way out to a birthday party revealed that free canal boat rides were running all day from one of our museums here in Leeds and the opportunity seemed far too good to miss out on! So after the party and a quick bite to eat we headed over to the canal, joined the que alongside several other eager families and together shared in a new experience of riding on a barge and cruising the canal! Megan and Ethan were excited from the start and questions galore filled them up. They noticed every little thing…pond skaters on the canal, ropes, the tea tray through the windows of the barge…they just loved it all and took in everything around them and thankfully for the hour or so we were down there, the sun shone and the whole thing was a great little adventure for us…especially Ethan and Megs who greatly love water, boats and new things!

Parenting recently has hit a rough spot! It has been a period where no matter what I do I feel like we are failing or just generally being ignored…its super tiring and its very frustrating. Life is rather amazing though that at times of difficulty we can always feel blessed for even a few moments, we can look into the eyes of our kids and see that they are so small still and we are giving them great experiences, memories and not doing as bad as we sometimes feel! Ordinary Moments like these, where life is mixed up with a new adventure together and you all appreciate one another and life again, the sheer joy on the kids faces that you provided them with this experience they couldn’t have imagined for that day and the little hugs and smiles at their delight over it all melt my heart and remind me how much we sometimes expect from someone so small and that perhaps we should be easier on them and ourselves. Whilst it was only a little 20 minute taster it was a lot of fun and I especially felt very relaxed and calm… I could have ridden that canal all day enjoying the water, plants and little bridges, and especially my family and children. What a lovely thing to do on a Saturday afternoon… I will most definitely be doing this again, the kids will make it so i’m sure!