12 Things To Do To Maximize Your Family Day

I don't know about you, but the moment I see a long weekend coming up on my calendar, I get excited about checking extra things off my to-do list.   And if you are like me, many of these hopes are never realized (for one reason or another) and you head back to work feeling no farther ahead. In some cases, you've thought so much about what didn't get done that you didn't even enjoy the weekend.  

What if this weekend could be different?

 What if you used this Family Day weekend to further your family and not your to-do list? 

Imagine what could happen in the life of your family if you choose to intentionally spend this Family Day together, as a family.  

When you pause and connect relationally, you have the potential to laugh together, to make new memories that can last into the future, to form deeper bonds and connections to your kids, and to continue to set the tone for what you want the culture in your home to be. 

Sure you may have to referee the odd fight or two, and might even have to issue a few time outs. But at the end of the day, when you choose to be intentional and invest your time positively with your family, you never lose.  

Spending a whole entire day together as a family sounding a little daunting? 

We're here to help. 

FAMILY DAY EVENTS IN SIMCOE COUNTY

1.  The Simcoe Muskoka YMCA opens its doors with free programs and activities all Monday. You can check them out here. 
2. How awesome does Snowmania sound? These are just some of the events happening around Simcoe County.
3. Lace up your skates at one of the many outdoor rinks, or maybe you want to head north to Arrowhead Provincial Park for the day and skate there. Have you seen their outdoor skating trail? 
4. While you're up north anyhow, why not check out Camp Mini Yo We. They have a variety of Family Day activities for all ages.   
5. Now's the perfect time to get in a family ski or tubing session at Snow Valley or Horseshoe Resort, or try Blue Mountain or Mount St. Louis for some different scenery. 
6. Like the outdoors, but aren't great on the slopes? Try geocaching - the closest you'll get to treasure hunting without commandeering a ship!

LOOKING TO STAY CLOSER TO HOME?

1. Make a special meal as a family! Pizza is a great option for this.  Head to the grocery store together and let everyone pick an ingredient that they love. Work together to build your family pizza (or pizzas). 
2. Plan meals ahead to take the stress out dinner while you're out adventuring.  The crockpot is your friend in situations like this!
3. Decide to go tech-free for the day. This may be tough but the results can be monumental when you are truly present. 
4. Try things like building a blanket fort and watching a movie, or building a snow fort and eating a picnic outside. 
5. Use this as a chance to be for the people in your life, teaching your kids to care for those around you. Make cookies or muffins and deliver them as a family.
6. Take the time to FaceTime or Skype a family member who is far away and catch up.  Just because you're not physically in the same space, doesn't mean you can't spend the day together!

No matter what you decide to do this weekend, I hope you decide to use your Family Day to further your family and not your to-do list.

5 Reasons to Stop Saying "I'm Fine."

Twenty times a day, we utter the words “I’m fine.”

If it's not “fine”, it's “I’m okay”, or maybe even an “I’m good” through a fake smile.  It’s usually part of a standard greeting and its one of the most common lies we tell. 

Sure, there’s a time and a place where ‘fine’ is appropriate. That coworker who is only asking how you are so they can share their story about the weekend? Fine is fine. Getting into your life story with the girl behind the counter at Starbucks? You can be fine. 

But when someone is genuinely asking you about the state of your life, your mental health, or how you’ve been coping, saying that you’re fine causes more harm than good. Here are five reasons why you should stop saying “I’m fine.”

1. It's making you exhausted 

Plain and simple, putting on a front all day every day will wear you out. When you suppress your emotions and go through life as though you’re not anxious or depressed, it takes more and more of your energy to keep up the act. If you’re dealing with mental illness, chances are you’re already running on empty; the added stress of being chipper and upbeat might just be enough to push you over the edge.  You might not be able to unload on everyone, but you can find a few people to trust and let them in.  It might be stressful at first, but over time you will feel your body begin to relax.

2. You’re a balloon:

Not that you’re round and full of air. You’re finite - there is only so much you can hold, only so far you can stretch before you’re going to pop. It's not healthy to suppress your feelings, whether its anger, grief, anxiety or anything else. The more you store up these emotions, the more likely you are to ‘burst’ at a later time. You’ll recognize this behaviour if you’re consistently the type to bottle things up. You fill your balloon with anxiety, grief, pain, and panic, and you expand until eventually, you pop; lashing out at those around you, or turning the explosion inward and having a breakdown. To avoid the inevitable explosion, let your ‘air’ out in small increments. Find someone to share with, start a journal, or find another outlet that will allow you to safely decompress. 

3. It gets better than ‘fine’: 

Life can be better than fine.  Although we will all encounter some difficult and heartbreaking times in our life, things can and will get better. If you commit yourself to a life of ‘fine’, you’ll never experience real happiness or overwhelming joy. Embracing the fact that you’re NOT fine opens the door to real experiences. By saying “I’m not fine”, you’re giving yourself permission to fix what’s broken. Work through the low points so that when you reach the highs, you can fully experience them. 

4. You’re not alone: 

Out of all the people who say “I’m fine” on a daily basis, you’re not the only one who is dealing with more. Whether you’re struggling with anxiety, facing a deep depression, or wading through the depths of grief and despair, you are not alone. When you finally stop saying I am fine and up to someone, you’ll be amazed at the stories that pour out. One of the worst parts of mental illness is the way it convinces you that you are all alone.   If you have no one close to you that you can confide in, a professional counsellor is an excellent outlet. 

5. Some things are too big to tackle on your own:

 You are resilient, you can handle a lot, but there are just things that you were not meant to tackle alone; mental illness, divorce, death, abuse, family turmoil, addiction and maybe even just that habit you have been trying to break for the last 5 years straight.  YOU are often the most difficult person to convince that you’re NOT fine. You need to stop saying you’re fine and start reaching out for help.  Whether it is a counsellor, an addictions program, or a friend, there are things in this life that are not ‘fine’. If you’re planning to move forward at any point in the future, you’ll need some outside help. So stop settling for fine, and ask for the help you need.  

One thing I know is that life is too short to keep saying “I’m fine”.  So take a step, open up to someone and make real change in your life.