Nice Day Guilt

I am convinced that one of the greatest needs for carers and parents is the alleviation of guilt. We place tremendous pressure on ourselves, and sometimes each other, to meet standards that we just can’t reach at times.

One of these pressures is nice day guilt! We’ve all had the advice, “It’s a nice day, why don’t you get outside and take the children somewhere, have a day out. Go and buy some ice cream, spend a day at the beach, climb a mountain, swim across the Irish sea.” The worst thing about this kind of advice is that internally you are screaming the same thing at yourself, panicking that you might let a sunny day go by without creating a photo album of lifetime memories.

I live in Wales where it is currently raining in early July.

We have the difficulty of living in one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world just down the road from some of the best beaches you could ever hope to find and sadly the rain in Wales is as guaranteed as a vote for Labour.

The pressure to use sunny days is enormous. I had a single friend who used to come around absolutely bemused that our whole family hadn’t gone body boarding or kayaking that week at the drop of a hat along with our disabled child and her wheelchair.

I just want to tell you this summer, to quieten that guilt in your head and ignore the pressure from others and instead listen to your body – if you’re exhausted and struggling, there will be other sunny days.

I’m not trying to provide a reason to always stay at home and to never take your children out for the day. If you are missing EVERY sunny day, then there may be something wrong. However, I don’t think this is often the case, rather you are usually trying your best to keep up and you can’t.

It’s ok on some sunny summer days to spend family time in the garden, or to do something in the home, or even have the children entertain themselves while you catch up on washing or on you time.

Do not be overcome with the nice day guilt! Then when you are recharged, when you have the energy, if you have the choice, the chance and the ability THEN get out, explore the world, have an adventure and fill that photo album! Just remember, some sunny days are just for solar charging, to refill your batteries.