“A top up?” My brother shoves a teapot towards my wine glass. I laugh with a friend as he pours the Margarita, which lays there cold and potent, waiting to be swallowed down. This is not a school night. It’s not even a weekend. This is a holiday.
It has been a long time since I last found myself with time on my hands and freedom to play. The week away has been perhaps my most profound holiday to date. When I was younger, in my late teens to thirties, a family holiday would almost certainly not have happened but here I was, surrounded by family, children and a few close friends feeling that I didn't want to be anywhere else.
Children.
I was the very best dad I could be on that holiday. I might even have entered the best dad competition and received a highly commended. The reason?
Family and close friends.
So here’s what happened. I didn’t get angry once with my children. If I felt even an ounce of annoyance creeping into my head then I would find some space and another adult would step in. My children didn’t experience any angry adults on holiday but more than that, I now had time to give to them. I could say “Yes” when they asked me to play instead of “Not now”. The result of this? - my children were happy all week, even when they were incredibly tired. Psychologist Robin Grille goes further and his studies show that, in all the indigenous tribes he visited, each child had four trusted adults on hand at any one time. A tribal elder was dismayed when Grille became angry at one of his own children and there were no child behavioural issues within any of the tribes
You can listen to a Waterpeople podcast with Robin Here
So why do we just do this on holidays? Is it OK to be stressed out, short-tempered and have limited time for the people we love most for the majority of our working lives? We spend all year earning money so that we can go on holiday and feel great for a week or two. What if we could wake up every day and do what we love most, removing the value from money and placing it on creativity?
Maybe we would all be better people and our children would be happier. Maybe I would play kubb with friends in the evening and spend more time body surfing. I would definitely play more, be a nicer person, have fun. The holiday created space and time for fun. For making margaritas with no fixed measures, no cocktail shakers, just a blender. Poured into wine glasses with a teapot. Enjoyed with friends and family.
And the taste? I can’t remember but at the time it seemed like the best margarita I had ever had.
Maragarita hazy memory
Service 10
crowd priceless
We should all wake up every day to do what we love most, definitely something to aim for.
I'm now a fan of Margaritas, roll on the next opportunity to imbibe!
A great holiday, stress free and everyone happy, thank you to all.