Green rows, red berries
Green rows, red berries
Summer warmth beneath blue skies
Memories linger
Cherish the small moments with your children. Their summers as kids are few.
Jill, my wife, had planned a fun activity for the family during the summer holidays: strawberry picking at Brocksbushes Farm. It was coming towards the end of the strawberry harvest season and lined up perfectly with some time away from work and the school holidays.
Come the morning, we got ready, dressed for the weather and packed our boots for the field into the car to change into once we arrived at the farm. The weather was hot and sunny, with very few clouds in the sky slowly drifting across the blanket of blue.
The farm had changed a lot since we were last there for pumpkin picking. There was now a large farm shop, café and a soft-play area for the younger children.
Outside, just before the entrance to the strawberry fields, were some small attractions that even Grace felt too old for now. As we confirmed our booking and picked the size of box we wanted, we listened to the staff member who recommended the best field for the day to pick our fruit.
So off we went, walking through the fields and up the hill towards the strawberries. The mood was light, with plenty of laughter as we walked past the growing pumpkins that will be ready for Halloween. Grace took great delight in the size of some of them already, exclaiming that she wanted to come back later in the year to find the biggest one to carve. Jill and I couldn't help but agree.
The time spent picking our strawberries was great fun. Looking through the leaves and plants for the perfect ones to pick, Grace was determined to find the biggest strawberries to fill her box. She ran back and forth as Jill and I helped, shouting, "We found a good one, Grace! Come and pick it!"
I really enjoyed this time. It was a relaxed and stress-free mid-morning activity that brought joy and some much-needed family bonding time.
The only issue... Max wasn't with us.
Max is a teenager now, well past these little family activities. He's at the age where he'd rather be out with his friends, or his girlfriend. Yes, girlfriends are in the mix now.
I somewhat remember those days, so I get it. Though I miss these full family trips out. It's a difficult thing to admit when you see your children growing and becoming independent. We nurture them to become these independent individuals, but a part of being a parent means we want them to still need us. To still spend time with us.
This made me realise that we get very few summers, Christmases and fun family trips out as a whole unit with our children. So we need to cherish each one for what it is: a brief moment in time that we will never get back.
Even the small things matter.
This strawberry picking trip brought all of that to the surface, but I will always cherish these moments.
