Halló Reader,
You don’t need elaborate vacations or special holidays to really connect with your family. Some of our best times come from everyday, right-where-you-are moments.
Here are 3 incredibly normal places where my family absolutely thrives:
1| The Grocery Store
For a few years, I mostly had our groceries delivered. It saved time...but it didn’t give me the opportunity to teach my daughter about money—and all sorts of other useful skills. It also didn’t give her the opportunity to practice these types of skills...
At our local Publix (best grocery store ever!), kids get 1 free cookie from the bakery.
My daughter was bold enough to ask for 2 cookies.
I wanted to see how that would turn out, so I didn’t stop her.
She indeed got 2 cookies.
It worked, so she did it again. And again. And again.
She learned to overcome the risk of rejection and ask for what she wanted.
When we went to different Publix, she again asked for 2 cookies.
She was told she could have 1.
She learned to handle rejection with grace. And she also learned that we don’t always get what we want!
These days, we usually go to the grocery as a family on Sundays after church for our big shopping trip, and we stop off during the week to pick up things as we need them. (We never keep a good stock of taco seasoning it seems…or maybe we just eat a lot of tacos!)
2 | Church
We wake up on time.
We get to church late.
But I’ve stopped worrying about that. The point is that we get there.
Sunday morning is my daughter’s time to shine. She wears a uniform to school all week, but on Sundays, her inner-fashionista comes out in full force. There are a lot of outfit (costume?) changes, and once I veto at least 3 of them ("please dress like the 10-year-old you are and not the 30-year-old you wish you were") she settles on one that’s (mostly) just right…and we finally leave the house.
Though she’s usually very resistant to be separated from us, at church she runs off to find her friends and get to class. I love seeing her embrace this newfound freedom and confidence.
My husband and I are a team at church, worshipping side by side. Whether it’s passing notes during the sermon (don’t judge!) or making eye contact with one another when the pastor says something oh-so-relatable, sitting in that pew together is the ultimate reminder of what our life is all about.
3 | The Car
I used to hate road trips.
It took ages to get anywhere—60-miles per hour was never fast enough.
Today, time in the car means uninterrupted connection with my family.
With my daughter, it’s like she's slipped into a confessional booth, chattering away in the back seat, telling me all.the.things.
With my husband, it’s time to talk and connect without the interruption of technology and all.the.things that need to be done.
And if I’m on my own, it’s time to listen to a great book series (I highly recommend The Wingfeather Saga), a podcast (I love Side Hustle Nation) or music that's good to sing along to (I could listen to Chris Stapleton’s White Horse all day!).
Hit reply and let me know, where your family thrives—I’d love to hear from you!
Bless,
Sara
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