Because sometimes the best memories come from the simplest plans.
"We really must get together soon!"
Sound familiar?
We say it, we mean it, and then promptly do absolutely nothing about it for the next three months!
Life gets busy. Work, children, family commitments, the never ending list of things that need doing around the house. Before you know it, your weekends are booked up for the foreseeable future and catching up with someone you love has become a logistical operation requiring three calendars, another WhatsApp group and a poll!
And that's if everyone actually replies!
But somewhere amongst all the busyness, are we forgetting to make time for the things that really matter?
When Did Getting Together Become Such a Big Thing?
Remember when seeing your friends didn't require weeks of planning?
When someone would pop round for a cup of tea, you'd end up chatting for hours, and nobody worried about whether the house was tidy or what there was to eat.
Or those family gatherings where everyone squeezed around the dinner table, the conversation carried on long after the plates were cleared, and there was always someone asking if anybody wanted dessert.
Looking back, it's funny how often those ordinary moments become the memories we treasure most.Not necessarily the big holidays, expensive meals or perfectly organised celebrations.
Just being together.
Somewhere along the way, though, it feels as if we've started putting a lot of pressure on getting together.
We need a reason, a plan, somewhere to go, something to do.
But do we really?
The Magic of Doing Absolutely Nothing Special
Some of our favourite moments have been the ones where we weren't doing anything particularly exciting.
For years, Dave and I have had a habit of finding half an hour in our often ridiculous schedules to wander around the zoo together.
Not a big day out. No grand plans.
Just the two of us, ice creams in hand, having a wander and a proper catch-up without a never-ending list of jobs competing for our attention.
And strangely enough, those little walks have become the birthplace of so many of our ideas. Something about stepping away from the to-do lists and simply having a conversation seems to get our brains working.
It's made us realise that sometimes you don't need more time. You just need to make a little space for the time you have.
And it doesn't have to be a zoo, of course.
It could be a walk around the block, a coffee on a Sunday morning, an hour in the garden with a friend or a spontaneous visit to someone you haven't seen in far too long.
The activity isn't really the important bit.
It's the company.
Remember When the Best Part Was Sitting Around the Table?
There's something wonderfully nostalgic about remembering family get togethers from childhood.
The noise of everyone talking at once. Someone inevitably telling the same story they've told a hundred times (and everyone pretending they haven't heard it before). The adults lingering around the table long after dinner had finished, while the children were far more interested in finding out what was for pudding.
And there was always that one person who insisted they were far too full for dessert, only to miraculously find room when it appeared.
Funny how that happens, isn't it?
I can still remember those moments. Everyone gathered around the table, conversations going off in a dozen different directions, and absolutely noone in a hurry to leave.
Well, apart from perhaps the person who'd been volunteered to do the washing up!
It's funny how, as children, we probably didn't think much of those afternoons. They were just normal family get-togethers.But looking back, those are some of the memories that stay with us. Not the perfectly laid table or what we actually had for dinner. Just the people, the laughter and the feeling of everyone being together.
The Plans We Almost Didn't Make
We've all had those days.
You've arranged to see someone, but the week has been chaotic, you're tired, there's a mountain of washing waiting and staying home in your pyjamas sounds incredibly appealing.
Then you go.
And you laugh, you catch up, you put the world to rights and you come home feeling so much better than you did before.
You find yourself saying, "We really need to do this more often!"
And this time, you absolutely mean it.
Until life gets busy again, of course.
But perhaps we need to stop waiting for the perfect time.
Because the perfect time rarely arrives, does it?
There will always be something else that needs doing. Another email to answer, another room to tidy, another job to tick off the list.
And while those things might feel urgent, they're probably not the things we'll look back on in twenty years.
Let's Make More of the Little Moments
Maybe we don't need to organise more elaborate plans. Maybe we just need to say yes a little more often.
Invite someone over even if the house is a mess. Arrange that coffee even if you've only got forty-five minutes. Get the family together without waiting for someone's birthday. Make a little fuss over the small things.
And perhaps most importantly, stop saying "we must do this again soon" without actually getting the diary out!
Because the people we love won't always be just around the corner, our schedules probably aren't going to magically become less busy, and there's something rather wonderful about making memories while we're in the middle of everyday life.
A Little More Time Together
This idea of making time for each other has always been close to our hearts.
In fact, it's one of the reasons we're creating The Parlour.
We wanted somewhere people could pop in, sit down, catch up and enjoy a little time together. Somewhere for the spontaneous afternoon treats as well as the special celebrations.
And yes, there will be plenty of ice cream involved. It would be a bit strange if there wasn't!
But more than anything, we'd love it to become somewhere that plays a small part in people's happy memories. Because that's what we remember most about our own.
Not necessarily what we were doing, but who we were doing it with.
So, Who Are You Going to Message?
If there's someone you've been meaning to catch up with, perhaps this is your little nudge.
Send the message.
Make the plan.
Put a date in the diary.
It doesn't need to be fancy, expensive or particularly exciting.
Sometimes all it takes is a spare half an hour, someone you love spending time with and a little something sweet to share.
Although, if you ask us, everything's better with a scoop of ice cream.
But then, we would say that, wouldn't we?