Posts in category: Quotes

On the last day of our holiday to Bluestone last week Rhys woke up sad.

He was almost in tears, telling me he didn’t want to go home.  He had enjoyed the holiday so much, he just wasn’t ready to leave.

And it brought back memories of how I used to feel every summer when we would pack up our car at the end of our holiday in France, and slowly drive off the campsite.

It was always so sad.  But in a strangely happy way.  I know that doesn’t make much sense at all, but I have a real mixture of emotions when I think about those endings now.

It’s just bittersweet.

I think part of what makes some things so special is the fact that they don’t last very long.

Holidays are amazing, and it does tend to be sad when we have to leave and come home, but it’s the very fact that they’re short lived that makes them so precious to us.

It’s the same with things in nature.

I absolutely love when the trees burst into life in the springtime, the cheerful pink blossom set against a bright blue sky is just a gorgeous sight.  And it’s all the more special because it doesn’t last long.

It’s all a matter of perspective I suppose.  

Realising how precious those fleeting moments are, and being thankful for them rather than just being sad that they’re gone.

Winnie the Pooh had it right I think when he said, “”How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m a pretty big Gilmore Girls fan.

I’m really not sure now how many times I’ve watched it from start to finish.  All I know is that each time I do it, I get this lovely comforting feeling from it.

That could be because of the programme itself, but I think a big part of it is the associations I have with it.  I first started it watching it back in 2003.  My best friend and I were living together in a little house in Swansea, after graduating from Uni.

And we would get up on the weekends and curl up in our pjs, with steaming cups of coffee, and watch the latest episode.  It was a perfect little routine, and one that I feel really nostalgic about if I’m honest.

So, that’s where my love affair with the girls began.  And it’s an ongoing one.  It’s still my go-to thing to watch when I want something comforting and familiar and easy.  And if I ever want a quote about coffee, I will look straight to Lorelai to provide me with one!

But there are other quotes from the programme that I use on a fairly regular basis.  “Oy with the poodles already” being the first one that springs to mind!

Then there’s this one.

In Omnia Paratus.

Maybe more of a saying than a quote, I’m not sure, it is said quite a few times throughout the seasons.

In case you don’t know, it’s the motto of the life and death brigade; the secret society that Rory’s boyfriend Logan belongs to at Yale.  And it means ‘ready for anything’.

Now, the life and death brigade use this motto with regards to their adventurous activities, like jumping out of planes in Costa Rica.  But I think we can apply it to parenthood too.  I mean, take a look in your handbag, I would bet that in that bag you will find pretty much everything you could possibly need when out with your children!

Snacks?  Wipes?  Nappies?  Little toys to keep them entertained?  Chocolate for you to sneakily eat when you need it?

Check, check, check, check and check.

I think we’ve got this.  In Omnia Paratus!

My little boy is six.  

And I’ve been doing what we all tend to do on occasions like this.  I’ve been reminiscing.  Thinking back to the very first moment when I thought I might be pregnant – my sense of smell went into overdrive when we were away at a wedding, and as it turned out I was actually about 5 days pregnant.

I’ve been remembering what it was like feeling Rhys wriggle and kick and stretch in my tummy.  He was really active even then, squirming all over the place!

I’ve been thinking about the early days of parenthood.  The first night home when I didn’t get a single minute of sleep.  The evenings that came after that, when we would rock Rhys in his room and listen to Calon Lân on his little red cd player.

I think that song will always be his song to me.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve sung it, well, hummed most of it because even now I’m not sure of all the lyrics, I’m not a Welsh speaker!

This bit of the song I do know though.

“Gofyn wyf am galon hapus, calon onest, calon lân.”

Translated to English, it says “I ask for a happy heart, an honest heart, a pure heart.”

That’s what I wish for my son.

As he steps further out into the world, I truly wish for him to keep his happy, honest, pure heart.

To not let the hard things in life harden him.

To always approach life with an open, honest heart.

To always, always choose love.  

Back when I was a teenager, a boy gave me some chocolate truffles.

It was Valentine’s day, and he left them at our front door.  It was the first time anyone had ever given me a valentine’s present.  And they were the posh truffles too, so it was extra special.

So I put them to one side.  

I felt they deserved to be savoured so I waited until the perfect time to eat them.  The thing is, I waited too long.  By the time I went to eat them they were way past their best.

The memory of it still makes me sad.  That disappointment that the thing I had held off enjoying was ruined.  I was so irritated with myself for not just eating them straight away and enjoying them in that moment.

Yet, I still find myself doing it now.  I wait for the perfect moment for things.  I save things for ‘special occasions’.

And it really bothers me!

I’m working on it though.  I’m trying to make this quote one of my mottos:

“Don’t save something for a special occasion.  Every day of your life is a special occasion”

Not every day is perfect.

Some days are utterly miserable.

But still, I do think we can always find something in each day to celebrate and be grateful for.  And so maybe we should crack open that bottle of wine that’s sitting in the fridge.  Maybe we should wear our ‘special’ jewellery on the school run.

I was handed a box of rather posh looking chocolates this Mother’s day, and there’s no way they’re being left to go bad!

As we were driving home from school today we were chatting about trying things.  Specifically, in this instance, trying different foods.

Every day at school the children have a snack, and I will always ask them what it was and if they ate it.  Nerys told me today that she didn’t want the cucumber that was offered to her, but she did eat the apple.  Then she told me that one day last week, she tried some pear, but she didn’t like it.

And I told her that was fine.  No one likes every single food.  But the important thing was that she tried it.  And that maybe one day she can try it again, because she might find she likes it then.

She wasn’t convinced by that!

But I think it’s a good approach to life in general.  We should try things before we make up our minds about them.  And we should possibly try them more than once, because our tastes and opinions can change over time.

This week’s quote fits this thinking perfectly for me:

“Try a thing you haven’t done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not”

I’m sure there have been occasions in my own life where I’ve not taken this advice, in fact I’m sure if my parents read this they’ll be laughing at how things have changed.  I’m pretty sure I took a lot of convincing to try new foods when I was younger!

But I think it’s something I’ll really be keeping in mind in the future; for new foods and for everything else new in life.

I just know that sometimes it can take a long time for me to try things for a second, or third time!  When I first started writing this blog I looked into using WordPress, and it overwhelmed me so much I went and used Weebly instead.  It was months and months before I decided to give WordPress another try and moved my blog over!  I’m so glad I did though.

Maybe going forward I’ll try not to leave it quite so long next time, between trying something for the first time and the second (and third) time!