Friday Journals: 21st June

Each week, Toni, Jase and Sam share an excerpt from their Friday journals. 

Take a read of them below! 

Toni:

Dear journal,

I did a parenting u-turn this week. Changed my tune and conceded I would change my way of thinking.. that’s not something I would normally advocate for. I definitely feel like follow through is an important part of setting boundaries as a parent so your children know you’re not a push over.

BUT not in this case.

You see I’m really anti-phones for children, I’ve read all the research and I know it can lead to anxiety and depression not to mention the bullying that can develop particularly via apps like snap chat. So, while my 11 year old friends were slowing getting phones for logistical reason, my husband and I were holding firm.

I knew what would happen. We’d say no social media or aimless scrolling and those rules would all go out the window within 5 minutes. But my daughter is now sometimes at theatre for 8 hour rehearsals finishing at 10.30pm at night, so I am beyond stoked that Rory Birkbeck a Tauranga Dad has invented the Safe Surfer technology, so I can happily give my daughter a smart phone but not enable anything but text and calls until we’re both ready.

Not only that, it detects nudity and scans any dodgy content coming into the phone so I know she’s safe. This is a proud day for New Zealand that a kiwi came up with this one!

Jase:

Hi journal,

What a week! My wife Louise AND both our sons have been struck down with winter nasties so I've spent the last few days trying to make sure they're Ok, they have what they need, avoiding germs and trying to convince Louise to rest and let ME carry the load around the house.

I'm not gonna lie - I'm not the best chef in the world. It's not uncommon for me to follow a recipe to the letter and still get it wrong. But, I still like to try.

This week, I've branched out and made all kinds of meals; soups, roasts and even tried to new twist on bangers with mash and I made homemade gravy for the first time. And, I was so good that even the smoke detector was cheering me on one night! But as good as the meals have been, what I'm REALLY proud of is the family I've created. Because I don't wanna brag, but their taste buds are so sophisticated that even when they're full of a cold or flu, they can just LOOK at food they can't even taste and know for sure that they don't like the taste of it.

So it was back to the air-fryer for chicken nuggets and chips.

Sam: 

Dear journal,

Toni spoke to my soul this week about embracing hard.

Life is hard and it’s not going to get easier anytime soon. So instead of winging, get better at doing hard. And nothing has demonstrated this more than my current winging.

I have the trip of a life time starting next Thursday - I'm off to Italy with my family.

But how many times have I moaned about the 17 hour flight to Dubai? Look, it’s a long flight for 3 young kids. I even moaned about where my kids sit on a camel.

I have even moaned about dinner bookings after 7 o’clock because my kids will get moody. And they will…

So I’m going to get better at doing hard. I'm going to ride that camel. And eat at the rare beef carpaccio. And enjoy that fresh mozzarella burrata. And I’m not even going to complain about the 35 degree summer temperatures. Or that there’s only 6 water slides on the cruise ship.

It's going to be tough, but I’m going to crystallise and embrace doing hard better.

Wish me luck.