Doing things that you enjoy with people that you enjoy being with is really important to your health. Sometimes though we find it hard to fit in time for these things, using work or money as a barrier. It’s so important to get balance in our life and get nourishment just for nourishment’s sake. Today I am headed to Rome with my son Eli for a few days together just seeing the sights and hanging out together. We both love travelling, especially air travel and although we are not going far, we feel united in our joy of taking off over London and heading somewhere new for a few days. Normally Eli would spend the first part of any school holiday glued to his xbox, which is not a bad thing to do after a busy term at school, but it would be separate from me and as a relationship we are worth investing in – finding a mutual space for us to inhabit together, from which we can both nourish. Relationships carry us through life, and sometimes we can only appreciate this when some go wrong. I have some of these in my life, which at times have led me to a very deep depression. It’s been a hard lesson to learn that if I don’t look after myself and my relationships, I cant necessarily count on them being there forever.
So these few days will be about us, whatever we chose to do. It will be about looking after that important bond we have as mother and son. It will be the health of this relationship that will see us through a multitude of difficult life situations that inevitably will lay ahead of us.
Last year I spent some quality time with my older son, Max after he passed his degree. I wanted to go to Mexico, but he didn’t want to be away from his girlfriend for more than a few days as they were in the process of moving in together. We negotiated on Marrakesh, Morocco, which is where we could go for a few days, hang out and experience a culture that neither of us have experienced before. I was the first time we had travelled together since he went to University and it acted as a right of passage for both if us. Mostly we acted as the two independent adults that we are, but every now and then we reverted into a mother and son relationship I.e. when he got burnt after not putting sun tan cream .. apparently it was my role as a mother to remind my 22 year old son to do that!!! Most time though we chatted about life and memories, hopes and fears … argued about real science and social science, but moreover had a wonderful time drinking mint tea and getting lost in the tiny crowded steets that make up Marrakesh. The memories will last us a life time, and were better than any watch, briefcase or any other graduation gift you can buy off a shelf.