How does your immediate world look? In these times of uncertainty it can be invaluable to focus on the minutiae of life, the things we can affect, and to ensure others know the good parts, the best bits.
We’ve been struck this week by how unique our individual maps are. We’ve travelled this week – appreciably not as far as the four remarkable brave astronauts making history – just 13 miles and 6 locks for us on river and canal. It made us realise how the memories we build up make a personal record for each of us.
The official map doesn’t show this but we travelled past:
*the place we first encountered cafe boats – one now the award winning Boat Street Mercia Marina, the other Holly the Cafe Boat no longer with original owners Vic and Jo;
*where we met Holm Oak Trading who have since transformed our own boat for us;
*where we first tasted the delicious Wobbly ice creams (and their delightful 2 and 4 legged crew) and later where No. 1 grandson thought he had landed in heaven when he was promoted be an ‘Official Taster’ for them;
*on through the deceptive bridge where we had to stop suddenly in the middle of the cut to run down the gunnels and take the chimney off quickly to avoid losing it or worse still getting stuck;
*up to the pasty pub and honesty boxes of delectable homemade goodies and homegrown veg that get us reaching for change before we approach, and wondering what we will find waiting each time;
*across the river section where we crossed with trepidation and once found a cruiser tied to a tree with its Skipper rolling a joint on the back deck as waters thundered past him;
*up the lock where a kingfisher delighted us – vivid colours against the dark wet walls
*to the place where Father Christmas visited our floating home;
*the pub where we had our first post pandemic pint out;
*and onto the lock where our gear box seized right in front of a crowd of Gongoozlers – exciting for them, horrendous for us but a place the Skipper proved to all of us (and himself) how resourceful he is.
These are the memories that make journeys memorable. Our own physical maps have been notated over the years in places with moorings, Wi-Fi signal, warnings, good pubs, closed pubs, low bridges, coffee mug rings and things we want to remember.
It got me thinking, particularly as the Easter holidays are upon us, whether this could be a good time to make family maps. Maps to pass on those personal memories, to share the special delights we find like coffee shops (and pubs), not-to-be-missed fish and chip shops, quirky shops, glorious dog walks, that bench where you sat with a loved one who’s now far away, beautiful bluebell woods, the place your child first rode their bike alone, or the place Granny fell in the river and had to be fished out by the Skipper and a bemused dog walker.
We can use these special maps to share our own insights with family and friends, to watch changes over the years or make joint memories. These are the maps that will conjure a thousand moments of shared times, good times, overcoming bad times, and lay the foundation for more additions over time.
I wish I had those kind of maps for the journeys my parents made and enjoyed together, so I could follow in their footsteps exploring places they loved. They don’t have to be Journeys Across the World types of maps, but single streets or villages, in our case stretches of canal or river, or even a single treasured woodland as my grandparents had.
I don’t remember now which trees the owls favour, where the badgers burrow deep underground, where snowdrops bloom in the winter or the exact spots bluebells herald spring or the best place to find hazelnuts before the squirrels do… A family map would jog my memory and be something I could add to with future generations, passing on those things that really matter.
Artists among us can make their maps beautiful records but whether drawn hy a toddler or an octogenarian, or by both, each has validity and real meaning.
We are fortunate to have different special mental and physical maps collated with different people, with friends and families, spanning countries and continents.These are true treasure maps. What do, or could, yours look like?
Pickingupducks 