What makes you truly happy?
I’ve been thinking a lot.. about all the things I truly love and all the things that really make me happy, that give me butterflies and make me feel like I’m walking on air. What encouraged me to write this post was the churning feeling in my stomach I got when we were driving through the Lakes this weekend. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the mountains stood all around us. I turned and said to Josh ‘I just want to cry’. I felt so happy and so grateful for being where I was. I felt so lucky. Then I started thinking about all the other little things that I couldn’t get by without, so I wanted to share them with you and of course, if you have anything you’d like to share with me, let me know in the comments section below because I would love to hear whether any of these relate to you or whether the things that make you happy are entirely different.
Being spontaneous
I’ve always loved routine, making lists and keeping a diary so I know exactly what I’m doing each day of the week, but I’m beginning to love being spontaneous. Josh was off work one day last week, and 10 minutes before my lunch break we just decided we’d have a picnic by the river in the sunshine. He made us some sandwiches and we packed a bag, sat by the river, went for a dip and then rushed home to get myself back to work. It was really nice to do something a little different and something so unexpected. I know, I know.. It doesn’t sound so exciting but just that change in routine was lovely, especially because Josh and I haven’t spent a lot of time with one another alone recently. We are either always with family or friends, or working, or doing the food shop. Things that have to be done but you’ve got to remember to make some time for your relationship too, just like you did at the beginning.
Being outdoors
Walking, running, swimming & camping are now my favourite things to do. I have always loved being outside and I’m so glad I grew up playing outside, rather than sat indoors playing on games and staring at phone screens. Although, MSN and BEBO was a thing in my early teens. So glad they don’t exist anymore! The more time I spend outside, the more I want to avoid ever being at home. You just get used to the elements, the wind, the rain, the sunshine, the cold. Next year we plan on doing some camping and walking over a few days, rather than going away just for one night. It will be a challenge for sure but so much fun if we get decent weather. Obviously, we will plan around a good weekend and hope for the best! If you have any tips for us, fire them over!
Early mornings
I’m not sure I’ve managed to lie in bed any later than 7:30 over the past few months. Especially now it’s Summer and the mornings are lighter, I tend to wake up between 6 and 6:30am. Erik also likes to be taken outside for a wee at this time, so I couldn’t snooze my alarm clock, even if I wanted to. Truth is, I love early mornings. I love sitting quietly for half an hour or so, with a cup of tea (Yorkshire may I add), or a smooth orange juice. I don’t turn the tele on. I like to just sit and be quiet. It tends to be the most beautiful time of the day. I can’t remember the last time I woke up early to rain, it always seems to be so still, so quiet and just so pleasant. I’ve also been enjoying splashing my face with cold water, almost immediately after my alarm goes off and getting up and out on to the fell. I’m waiting for the day Erik can actually join me and not be so interested in sheep!
Discovering somewhere new
I spend a lot of time researching walks that aren’t so popular, finding tarns, view points, waterfalls, as well as asking people where I can find such places. Part of the fun is actually researching because you often come across places you never thought you would. We’ve decided we won’t be sharing any of the locations here in the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District, which I know is incredibly frustrating for loads of people because I know how annoyed I get when I can’t find out where someone has been but on the other hand you just have to respect that decision and the reason behind it. We’ve experienced so much littering during lockdown, that I really do not want to share these beautiful places with just anyone. It’s so easy to jump on Instagram nowadays and find a Instagram worthy location, find the location either from the tagged location or from giveaway hashtags and venture there yourself. But when you’ve done your research and when you’ve made connections with people who love what you do and really love the outdoors, it’s incredibly frustrating that one, some do not respect the countryside. They literally come to take pretty photos, have a good time and then trash the place and two, nobody ever credits you for helping them discover these places. So I’m really sorry to anyone who has asked me for locations but I hope you respect my decision not to share those.