I'm sitting here in departures at Nice Côte d'Azur airport after spending a week enjoying all that the beautiful french riviera has to offer. It's been a week of ups and downs, mainly it's been good, I think my teen enjoyed herself but it has to be said, there's been 1 or two complaints. I've marched her up hills she didn't want to climb, I've made her walk one too many random walks, I guess you could say that every complaint has been completely legitimate if you're her and that's okay.
I can't ever remember complaining about family holidays to Scotland or Wales, I think I was just happy to be there, maybe my travel bug came from those soggy days spent covered in that funny rain which sticks to your skin when you're wandering around the southwest coast of Scotland, actually it hadn't rained for 27 weeks until we set foot there and then it didn't stop for 2 whole weeks if I remember correctly, perhaps an early sign of my rainmaking! I digress though, let's get back to the subject in hand!
You see, I've always encouraged my children to tell me how they're feeling and to express their emotions, I never want them to feel they can't tell me what's on their mind, especially during those tricky teenage years it's so difficult to navigate your way through. Part of that is accepting that teenagers complain, they complain a lot, it's not that they're completely self obsessed, it's just that to them, everything in the world affects them, it takes many years to see the bigger picture and in fact some people, well they never really do.
I myself am grateful for every single experience I have, particularly when it comes to travel but then I love walking up big hills, I love going on random walks never knowing if I might end up getting lost, to me it's a big adventure, never mind the fact that each time I do it, it's another kick in the face for agoraphobia, I can barely remember the days when I wouldn't go past my own back gate alone. If you look at it from a teens perspective, it's probably me that's being selfish and self obsessed, always off on my own agenda making choices I think we'll all enjoy and going off on walks with no idea of where we'll end up, mostly on the promise that there'll be a good viewing platform along the way, give me a good viewing platform and some "yumptuous" lighting and I'm a happy bunny. My daughters laugh at this and I can't say I blame them but the photographer in me is always looking for the best view I've ever seen in the best light I've ever experienced. It could be worse I suppose, I could threaten them with getting up for sunrise as well as staying out until the sun has set, thing is though, I'm rubbish in the mornings!!
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