Friday, July 22, 2011

Brain overload

Ok, I admit it that right now I am dealing with brain overload. I think part of it is I need a vacation, and another part is I have too many ideas floating around in my head.

I have been looking at blank pages on my computer and my iPad and nothing has been written, but the ideas are in the brain fighting to come out. People think it's easy to write, but some days it's a lot harder to make sense of anything.

Lately I have been trying to focus on the easier things that make me happy, hoping that it will assist in getting the brain in some order, but so far, no luck. I think I need to just write all the little bits of ideas down and see what happens with each of them. Some may end up as something while others may end up in the garbage, but that's fine.

So for the next couple of weeks I am going to focus on relaxing and see how that helps. Maybe just giving the mind a bit of a break is all that I need. I will always have something to record my thoughts handy because that should help as well.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Eating out and children

This last week, we decided to go out for a nice and relaxing dinner at a local restaurant that we enjoy.

Remember, I did say relaxing dinner.  It was nice and relaxing until some people were seated near us and the entire experience changed.  The table was two mothers and two little girls (maybe around 3–4 years old).  As soon as I saw the way one of the mother's talked to her daughter, I knew we were in for some trouble.  Within minutes, the little girls were running up and down the restaurant and were only told "don't run".  This warning was told to them after they almost ran into a server carrying drinks on a tray.

The "don't run" turned into two girls on their tip toes almost running around for quite a while and also screaming.  Again, "don't run" was warned to them, but it took quite a while before the other mother finally got up and got the girls to come back near their table.

When people go out for dinner with children, I know that the children get bored, but please ensure that you have something for the children to do to keep them entertained at your table.  I have seen some parents bring portable DVD players or iPads so that the children can watch videos to keep them happy, and I know as another guest in the restaurant I also appreciate this. 

I know it's hard to keep children entertained through a meal, but please remember parents that other people are also going out to enjoy their meal.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Seeings Things Differently

Take some time to just sit and watch your surroundings for a while.  In today's world, this is something we don't do much of anymore.  It seems that we are always in a hurry and never slow down to appreciate the surrounding things.

Sitting and people watching can be so much fun because you can imagine a conversation based on hand gestures or a volume of a voice.  You can see people who are in love, people who are having fun and people who are angry with each other.

Watch how people walk.  You will see some with theirs heads up walking with a purpose, some walking looking at their feet and others walking as if they have no cares in the world.  To really see people with no cares in the world, watch children walk around and see their smiles and hear their laughter.  The best place to watch children with no cares is in a park playing. Maybe we as adults need to be like children sometimes and forget even for an hour all about the pressures we are dealing with.

Too often, when we hear someone humming or singing a song softly, we think, "Why are they doing that?"  Maybe this person is taking that break from their stresses and enjoying something that makes them happy or even brings back nice memories.

Learning to take the breaks and doing something that makes you laugh, or smile is important.  We can't live always at full speed, otherwise we miss too much of the actual world around us.  Spending a bit of time at a slower pace will help recharge the personal batteries, but also let you see things a little differently.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Quite Weekend

We have just spent a nice, quiet weekend together, and it has been nice to also see other families spending time together this weekend.  Yes, Friday was a holiday here in Canada to celebrate Canada's 144th Birthday.

What I did see this weekend is a lot of people have been showing their pride in being a Canadian or even living here in Canada if they are not yet a citizen.  Our neighbourhood has been surprisingly quiet, and I know I have taken advantage of that by relaxing. 

Being born here in Canada, I don't know what it's like to live in another country or even what it's like to live in a different province.  Seeing families spend a day together, is nice, in this busy world we live in.  I know that we spent Friday without using our computers, (I set that rule for this year) at all, which in some ways was hard to do, but I think it did both of us a world of good.  Yes, our blackberries were still on and if someone needed us for work we would have answered, but doing things away from our computers was nice.  I also heard that one family had a no TV rule on Friday so that the family could spend time together.  Maybe that is what is needed more often, a time set aside for a family to just be a family without all the influences of today's world getting in the way.

Well, before the quiet in our neighbourhood comes to an end, I am going to go and enjoy sitting outside for a bit longer.  Yes, the computer is going to stay inside where it belongs.