Life and Times of the Fireflies: Family Cycle

Besides school, friends and fun; my greatest childhood memories are the moments spent with my family. Our childhood games, our teenage trials and triumphs, our adult successes... and the trivial treasures between...

We don't realise how the little things in life impacts us; how the simplest of moments impacts us in the biggest way. It's as I'm busy building new memories with my own family now that I especially relish in the memories of my youth. How the past influences the present...and this present moment has the ability to influence the future...

Having kids comes with its own set of sacrifices, and when the older of my kids were much younger, I found it difficult to balance it all. My days were devoted to these two beings and so much more in between. As I've become older I've also become wiser. I realise that giving to myself is as important as giving to others.

It's always going to be a challenge to balance family life with still maintaining one’s own interests and identity. I take my hat off to the working moms out there who slave the day away at work and still come home and manage kids and family!!! In an effort to balance family time, fitness and having fun, we decided to combine them all, and last year started our weekly family cycles.

It's as I trail the kids in these adventures; as they get excited at the obvious edge they have over me, as they laugh and cheer each other on, as they for once lead and I follow; that I see my own youth flash before my eyes. Five siblings racing up Rhodes Memorial, parents trailing...walks at Sea Point...tired me catching a ride on dads back...Constantia Nek hikes...Newlands Forest barbecues. It's as I travel this exact same route; but this time as a mother; I realise that in my effort to get fit and balance it all, I'm also creating valuable memories that could pave the way forward for my own kids. Hopefully they will be a lot fitter and healthier too...