With the early days of the six-week school holidays upon us, it's easy to find our time being pulled in all sorts of directions. There are work commitments, children, grandchildren, household jobs and everything else that fills our days. Suddenly, the calendar becomes fuller, and finding a balance that works for everyone can feel like a challenge.
For me, these weeks are about prioritising Oliver. As he still lives at home, our routines naturally revolve around his summer plans. My older children, meanwhile, are navigating the wonderful chaos of family life themselves, balancing work with the endless energy and demands of younger children. It reminds me that every stage of parenthood brings its own joys and challenges.
One thing I always try to do is pencil in a day each week with my daughter and my grandson. It doesn't have to be anything extravagant. We head to a local park, wander through the forest or find somewhere he has room to run free. We always pack a picnic while the sun is shining, and sometimes the greatest adventure is simply putting up a paddling pool in the garden. Those simple moments bring so much happiness. They give my grandson the freedom to play while my daughter and I enjoy the precious gift of catching up.
Oliver's needs are different now. He no longer needs me to build dens or push him on the swings. Instead, he needs lifts to meet his friends, someone to be there after a day of biking, and a family meal where we simply listen to the stories of his day. I find myself sitting in the van while he disappears onto the trails, and when he returns for lunch, covered in mud with a huge smile across his face, those few moments together feel incredibly special.
Perhaps it's because I've already watched two children grow into adults that I understand just how quickly these seasons pass. The afternoons spent building Playmobil farms, playing with toy cars, painting at the kitchen table, reading bedtime stories or exploring the countryside with my grandchildren are never really ordinary. They become the memories we return to years later—the moments we don't realise we're making while we're living them.
As I get older, I realise that life isn't measured by the big milestones alone. It's found in the ordinary days that quietly become extraordinary because we shared them with the people we love.
So this summer, I'm not striving for perfection. I'm simply trying to find balance. To juggle my work around the people who matter most and to be as present as I can in the ever-changing rhythm of family life.
Because, in the end, it's rarely the busy days we remember. It's the picnic in the park, the muddy bike rides, the bedtime stories, the laughter in the garden and the conversations that happen when no one is looking at a clock.
These are the moments that quietly weave themselves into the fabric of our lives. They ask for very little of us—just our time, our attention and our presence. Yet years from now, they will become some of the memories we hold most dear.
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