Last week, we visited the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum as a family. Before the summer began, the kids had noted that we haven’t been in sometime, and we were in the area so the timing was perfect.
Having been many times before we know that we would get a chance to see the animals, maybe take in a demonstration and enjoy walking the grounds. What I wasn’t prepared for was the complete nostalgia that I felt when entering.
This was a place that as a stay at home mom I went to with the kids all the time. When it was just my son and I and he was barely walking, we would spend a morning at the Farm where he could play and run and see the animals. He would almost always fall asleep on the drive home and I would stop at a drive thru coffee place for either a latte or lunch and sit in the car to eat it. When my daughter was born, we’d repeat the ritual – the only difference was that I would end up with two happy and tired kids sleeping on the drive home. (Check out this post I wrote in 2012 about it!)
I grew up in the country where my grandfather farmed. We had animals around us, and the milk tank and tractors. Having a place in the city that I can take my kids to and feel a little bit like I am sharing a piece of my own childhood with them is extremely special.
Now, even as they are older, they loved visiting the Farm and seeing the animals. They had a really great morning and we loved chatting about thing that we used to do when we visited, and what features have changed.
With both being in school full time, I often miss those times that we spent together, in the early days of my parenting life, when there was nothing else to do but be together. I’m happy to revisit those moments, and still capture memories together, no matter their age or where we go.
