Fare un picnic

Out of the blue last Friday morning, the desire to eat al fresco struck me hard! There was still a chill in the air at 9am but the blue sky and warm sun was promising. The boys had an early dismissal from school and I turned to Claire and said, “Let’s pack up a picnic and we will eat lunch at the park after we get the boys!” No complaints from her!

When we arrived at school I didn’t say anything and they didn’t notice the large overstuffed green picnic bag on the front seat. Claire sort of spilled the surprise, but Jake didn’t quite understand what she was talking about so he never questioned it further.

In fact, they didn’t notice we were NOT going home until we drove down the road to the park. Happy, happy kids!

We dropped our bags and blankets under one of my favorite willow trees. The kids ran off to play while I unpacked and set up our lunch. YUM! It was so easy to throw together fruits, cheeses, veggies, crackers and olives into the bag along with all the cloth napkins and drinks we would need for the afternoon. As I was packing the food earlier that morning, I made a promise to myself that I will be doing a lot more spontaneous picnics. My friend, Sharon is a pro and has been doing this for years!

We love eating outdoors and the fresh air makes everything taste better. Don’t you agree?

On our way out, the ice cream truck just happened to pull up. So, I gave in to the pleas and “pleeeeeeaaaase!” from all three and we sat for a few more minutes to enjoy the day.

That day I realized having a packed bag for a picnic, is such a fun way to explore without having to figure out where the closest restaurant is or what time it will be until the next meal.

I want to spend as much time as possible outdoors this year and part of that will be spent eating picnic lunches – maybe breakfasts and dinners too! And I know a few people who will be right there by my side!

Live Well