Making time for what you enjoy

This week two years my husband and I took a week off. We had just learnt that my husbands step father who was a remarkable man had pancreatic cancer... My husband and I had taken a week off work to be on hand for my mother in law who was living by father in laws bedside. We had a couple of days out with picnics and chose to just sit and reflect on the situation in hand.

We were told that the cancer was not treatable and father in law could only be made more comfortable. We were also told that this type of cancer would take father in law within or around 12-15 months. We lost my father in law on my husbands birthday 1st August last year ... we as a family were all with him when he passed.

My father in law was a go getter and he had worked for years setting up his retirement. He had laid all the foundations ready for that day .... he died 10 days after he officially retired !!!

We sometimes found it very hard to cope with that mother and father in law was more often than not off doing stuff for charities and socialising with friends. Surely family is important as well.

Since father in law has passed we have taken on a similar approach to life. Go get what you want and enjoy your free time. Work hard and get what's yours .. no ones going to just give it to you.

In the UK I think we have just been taught to work work work, free time seems to consist of rest quickly the next instalment of work work work is on the way. Whereas in other parts of the world people seem to have proper down time .. time for family and to to what they enjoy.

As a school child I never seem to remember being told I was good at anything, I only seem to remember school installing that I wasn't any good at anything particular. My cooking skills were second to none, but because I was ill on the day of my exam I was told I couldn't be bothered!!

I'd always wanted to be in the catering industry, so this pretty much deflated my dream. My art and crafts teacher once again told me my work was nothing to write home about.

I think the point I am trying to make here is we're all good at something. I love cooking and know I'm good at it. My craft work is also of a high standard, be it card making, scrapbooking, stationery making, jewellery making ... but then does all that matter, surely it's all about enjoying and relaxing with what you want to do with your free time, it's not how good we are. We all need and should turn off from everyday life and have that "ME" time ....

I try to craft in one way or another every day and now need to make time for blogging what I really enjoy doing .... I would say the most memorable piece of craft is the scrapbook I made for mother and father in law of our last family Christmas (2009) In fact this was the first Christmas since I have know my husband (1989) that the whole family was there for Christmas day.

Enjoy your "ME" time and make sure you get this each and every day. It is so so important.