hookey day

When my children were in school, I used to let them take what we called a hookey day every semester. Now remember that I myself was a schoolteacher before becoming a stay at home Mom so I fully understood the importance of attending school. We had some rules for this day in that it couldn’t be used if a test was being given or any major assignment was due. It had to be just any old ordinary school day. Giving them the freedom to decide when they needed a break made them feel in control of what could sometimes feel like an out of control world. The best part was the excitement they would feel when they declared to me that they wanted to take off of school for our time together, just the two of us, one to one. We would immediately start to plan our special time together. We could do whatever we wanted to enjoy time with each other. Usually this included going out for brunch, going shopping or visiting places we normally wouldn’t have time to visit during a weekday. Some of my best memories with my son and my daughter are from these special hookey days that we intentionally put the cares of the day aside just to be together. I am so deeply grateful we did this with each other. These are some of my favorite memories that still sustain me to this day, especially now that my son is no longer here to be able to create new memories with me. That is one of the hardest parts of grieving, knowing no new memories are being made with your loved ones. So while you are still here, please take the time to purposely plan to make as many special memories with your loved ones you still have here. Take it from me, you never know when those opportunities may stop. You really do want as many in your mind as you can to fill you up. The time may come and go, but memories can live a lifetime.