Family Outings

I have four kids who are at different stages of their lives and who have different likes and dislikes. They are individuals and I treat them as such. They are also part of a family unit and as a family we do things together whether they all feel like it or not. They don't always want to come along on family outings, but when I see them all enjoying themselves then I’m satisfied that my husband and I insisted the unwilling one (or ones) join us.

There’s also wisdom in not always insisting that everyone comes along on one of our outings. I also want to enjoy myself and there’s nothing worse than having a sour participant at my side. One outing that I knew wouldn’t suit my kids was a tour of privately owned gardens in the area. It was a fundraiser for the Deaf Institute.

Not too many kids would want to give up their Saturday or Sunday looking at other people’s gardens. However, we have one child that we knew would enjoy herself… Amanda. She loves outings. We brought her along without hesitation. All three of us had a wonderful day of it. Rob and I especially enjoyed watching Amanda take pleasure exploring the beauty around her.

Photo Above: My husband, Rob, took this photo of the kids and me during a holiday on South Africa’s west coast.

Photo Below: Amanda is being a garden nymph on our tour of privately owned gardens.