Are your holiday memories melting away faster than ice cream on a sunny day?
Yesterday I survived my first day back to work and back at home after 10 days in a static caravan in Norfolk with my parents. I survived the latter too, I even enjoyed it!
My favorite game to play when I come back from holiday is ‘This time last week I was….’ (Insert exotic location, fun activity, yummy food). It is as simple as it sounds, I compare my life now (a video call with work) with my holiday life (eating pain aux raisins on the beach). Once the first week ‘back’ has passed I usually stop playing the ‘This time last…’ game as by then the holiday feels like a distant memory and the little things that happened and sparked joy are replaced by things in the now that need attention BUT yesterday I read something that made me think about these memories in a new light.
As I scrolled mindlessly through instagram I came across a photo with the caption ‘survival strategy 852099832523: memories’. This caption made me say 'YES’ out loud. Now more than ever our memories of the past be it last week, last year or a decade ago are pulling us through this weird year and giving us hope that we will be able to do all the things we love again with all the people we love.
A random google search about the importance of memories ensued & led me to an article in Marie Claire about the book ‘The Art of Making Happy Memories’ by Meik Waking. According to Wiking -
“Happy memories form the cornerstone of our identity, and can help with combating depression and loneliness. They influence our happiness in the current moment, as well as providing a framework for our hopes and dreams about the future."
So on that note, I’m going to write down the memories that are still afresh and dancing around my head from last week…
- The caravan physically rocking in the wind
- Pain aux raisins & coffee on the beach
- Catch-up with a school friend on the sea wall
- Made-up games
- Waking up nose to nose with my parents dog
- Doing a photoshoot with my mum and her quilt and getting clapped by a random women in a van
- Made-up songs about a hedgehog and an abacus
- Pretending not to be in the caravan, & at the same time trying really hard to listen, as an argument between two families happened the other side of the window
- Walks on the promenade
- My dad insulting a woman’s dog not realizing his car window was down
- Takeaway from the pub
- So much rain that the ducks relocated from the river to the puddles
- Crab puffs
Such a random list but I LOVE it. If your worried you didn’t savor the moments enough to make the memories last or you don’t have any photos to remind you of the good times, doodles are always an option. In fact my list above would be enough to create an A4 doodle. Sure, it would be weird and random but they are often the best ones!