The Boss and I are not very good about getting out at the weekend.  We tend to potter around the house and garden,  tidying up, doing little jobs, enjoying the sun on our back and drinking endless cups of tea.  It is lovely, but life is about balance and despite saying “oh we must go out and do X” we usually end up not doing it.

Fortunately the Fickle Finger of Fate had other ideas.  The Singers had their first day at Quay Voices at the Sage in Gateshead.  10.30-5.30 with a compulsory meeting for parents (of the under 18s) at 5.00pm.  I grabbed my chance.  I firmly believe that everyone gets opportunities in life it’s just that most of us a pretty rubbish at noticing them.  “Let’s drop the girls at the Sage, then head off to the Quayside for breakfast, have a potter through the Sunday Market and maybe visit the Laing and Baltic?”  I peeled myself off the floor when the Boss said “okay.”

So that’s precisely what we did.  As it happens  we got to the Laing an hour before it opened (at 2.00pm??) and the exhibition at the Baltic was dreadful (Thomas Scheibitz), well not my cup of tea at least.  What do you think?

But we had a delicious breakfast (Eggs Benedict) at the Pitcher and Piano, read the papers and I caught up on some knitting.  We loved wandering among the stalls at the Sunday Market.  From made to order Vietnamese curries to pig roast; from homemade dog treats to my favorite leather worker (everything from pencil cases and lap top bags to swatches!!), fresh homegrown vegetables (I bought amazing onions, tomotoes and cucumber – all a real mix of varieties) to homemade pies and the cutest baby clothes.

We wandered up towards the centre of town but were foiled by the Laing being closed which was a shame because I really wanted to see the “Divine Bodies” exhibition.  However, we ambled back down towards the Quayside, stopped for a very light lunch of guacamole and margarita ( 🙂 ) and slowly  made our way back to the Sage.

The girls had had a great day, we bumped into their singing teacher and Singer One’s horn teacher and we had been out for the day.

Sometimes it is easy to fall into a rut.  To think you can’t be bothered.  Whether you can’t be bothered to make the effort to go out or you can’t be bothered to get rid of the clothes/books/knick knacks/linen/cds  etc. that you no longer want, it is easier to say “I’ll do it another day”  But you won’t and your days will speed past and you might never do it.  And what if you missed out on something amazing by not doing something simple?

I had a really wonderful day and all because I said let’s stay in town.  Hey, that wasn’t hard was it?

Say yes to something tomorrow, something to which you are about to say no.  Not a job nor an additional responsibility, feel free to say never to that, but to an offer, an opportunity.  Even if it’s just a suggestion to have a different filling in your regular lunchtime sandwich.

Having fun doesn’t need money or equipment, it just needs an open mind.