Everybody needs a quiet time. So do I.

Desperately.

And if I won’t get it… I’ll take it 🙂

On weekdays we are too busy with checking our emails, catching up on Facebook, updating Twitter, taking photos for Instagram, or just watching Master Chef or The Voice on TV. It became too much.

That’s why we decided to take a quiet time for one whole day.

It happens every week, one full day with no distraction from technology. The day is Saturday.

On this special day no one is allowed to use any electricity or electric machines like computer / phone / TV. The outcome of it is that the spotlight is on us, our family, and our kids. We site around the table to eat and after that we just talk, play, read and enjoy each other’s company. It is so nice to listen to the kids talking about their week, what they learned and what special art and craft they made at school. It’s literally quality time.

This Saturday, winter came to visit Melbourne. It was raining, so we stayed at home, playing, making a jigsaw puzzle, reading a book and laughing, cuddling, playing around with piggyback’s walk, watching snails on the window.
It was a great day, fun day, just us, with no distraction at all.

It was very special.

Now let’s think what will be happening to the same day when you use technology:

Dad will be working on the computer for the rest of the day, the kids will fight over another computer, or the TV, everybody will scream or cry, nobody will be talking, or doing meaningful things. Only ignoring each other.  So the outcome would have been another ‘busy’ day, instead of quality time / family time.

So every Saturday I am so happy we chose right!

That’s the way the kids feel they really matter.

It might even teach them a lesson for life!

Family comes first.

 

Normally we are very busy on a daily basis; we don’t have time to think through our happiness. We are too floating on the sea of life. Going to work, back from work, picking up the kids, preparing dinner, helping with homework, cleaning, taking care of laundry, making lunch boxes for the next day, ironing and many more.

Usually we don’t have time to stop and think. it’s a bit sad. Is that what we really want? where is the fun in life? do we really want our kids to learn these habits from us and do the same when they get older?

I don’t think so. That’s why we need to learn (and teach our kids) to live the happiness even in those crazy times. Enjoy the joy of life.

Last week we had a photo-shoot. It was fun, we had to smile until our faces hurt. When I saw the photos, it hit me like lightning – my kids are growing too fast now, and these moments we share will only live in our memories, but not enough for everybody to see or know about them. We need to share this happiness with the whole world. Each one of us should find their own happiness moments in their busy life.

We need:

1.  To add laughter to our spirit and use it. Being silly works for me and for my kids. Instead of being angry at them, I’m being silly.
2.  Smile/hug more. Our kids are getting bigger everyday. We don’t see it but it happens. In a hug or a smile we say much more than words can say. Soon they won’t be willing to get these great gestures because they are get bigger/older.
3. Say you love. Sometimes we are too busy to say I love you. So I found funny ways to do it: one day, my daughter forgot her lunch box. It can happen. But I had few spare minutes so I decided to bring her lunch box from home. I sneaked into the classes’ corridor and put it in her bag with a note: “You forgot your lunch on the table… I brought it to you rather than letting you learn a lesson only because I love you.”You can find occasions to say you love; this way your kids will learn to give more love to the world as well.
4.  Tickling helps – to raise every spirit. Even after a crazy day at work.
5.  Identify peaceful moments and cherish them – each family will find their own special moments to cherish with or without a camera. Good memories will stay forever.
6. Talk more. flatter. Give positive energy – your family needs that. after a while, you will notice they are being more positive and flattering as well.
7. Try to hold yourself – When you feel like you are going to lose it, swap the scream or anger with a song or a laugh – my kids understand that I am very angry like that without even saying, but the message is delivered much more efficiently.
8. Enjoy the moment itself – like sitting and watching a movie together. Just enjoy each other’s company. Enjoy the moment.
9. Go for a picnic or a day trip – quality time makes a good outing as a family. Stories are told and songs are sang. Together.
10. Enjoy indoor activity. Even cleaning can be fun with a bit of music and dancing.

That’s how we want to raise our kids – with happiness and good memories, not with stress / fear / anger.

Happiness is within us. Enjoy every minute of it.

As part of being in a new country you get to learn lots of things, about:

• Yourself – things you never thought you’ll learn about yourself
• Community – your new community and yourself as part of a community
• Family – the loving family you’ve left behind
• Relationships – has to do with all of the above and more

You also get to learn a lot about culture and finally, most important, about  the weather.

 

Let’s start from the end. From my point of view the most noticeable change – the weather. Melbourne weather is very unique. And very diverse.

It’s changing every day AND every hour, which means you need to be prepared for it. In the mornings it can be freezing cold (even in summer); at noon it can change to very hot and sunny weather; on the late afternoon it can be raining (even in summer) and at night, a  thunderstorm might appear out of the blue.

Crazy, I know. Did I mention it’s diverse?!

That’s why I love it. It’s unique, different. Exactly like culture!

It’s so much unlike the Mediterranean weather, where you get 3 months of unbearable humidity with nonstop sun and heat.

Here in Melbourne you get everything all at once. In the same day!

I love diversity, it makes you feel there is room for everybody, or even for every kind of weather; you can see people wearing thongs with raincoat and shorts, holding an umbrella. At the beginning it looks weird, but once you realize you always need to be prepared – that’s what you will be doing. Always wear short sleeves, long jumper in your hand bag, and always carry raincoat and umbrella in your car. That’s a MUST.

I can compare the weather to the culture in Melbourne: lots of different immigrants, cultures, foods and smells. You can find Asians, Hindi, Greeks, Italians, Russians, Lebanese Israelis and many more. I have never saw so much cultural diversity in one country as I saw in Melbourne.

When you travel to Europe, most of the people look the same and sound the same – Europeans. But here you can find so many cultures mixed up and it’s so beautiful to see there is room for everybody and there is respect for every culture.
Each culture has a community –  usually they live around each other, and the shops and restaurants will be more cultural at these areas. It means they are united by their culture, history and community (sometimes by religion as well). From their community you can learn about their relationships and the connections to their family and the individual. These things teach you a lot about the way they are living. Connection with family is different here, because some people have no family in Australia, but some do. If you don’t have family – you will find few families that you can relate to, usually from the same cultural background, and make them your family.

You get to learn a lot about yourself by facing  new obstacles in your new life; but by leveraging your supportive surroundings (family / connections / relationships / community) you can overcome any obstacle – because by their support you are empowering yourself and your family. That what moves you forward and encourages you to overcome any obstacle. Sometimes a simple question like “how are you?” can really mean a lot. A hug or a kiss will make a total difference.

In a very diverse country you’ll have very diverse friends – that’s the beauty of cultural mixture of Aussies, Canadians, Americans, South-Africans, Israelis, Russians and more. And while sitting around the table together, you’ll talk about the most common theme: Melbourne weather.

I think that summarizes it all.