Turn Ordinary Days into Magic

Photo Scavenger Hunt at our local Farmer's Market

This week we are talking about Living More.

I like to see how magical we can make a regular day. Sometimes, it’s hard to do big, amazing things all the time — for lack of time, energy or even resources. But, as I said in my last post, some of the best memories are those everyday moments that glimmer simply because we took the time to notice the beauty.

And why not?

Why can’t we make magical memories every single day?

As we’ve been discussing this week, the memory jar has opened my eyes to everything that we do — and don’t do — in our life. The process of writing it all down is just as meaningful, like living it twice.

I’m not sure where my idea for a farmer’s market scavenger hunt came from as it’s not original, per se, but I didn’t find it anywhere in particular. It is, however, a perfect example of turning an everyday experience into something magical. Not only did it give us a new perspective on a place we had visited dozens of times before, it gave our girls something creative to do with their newish LeapPads.

Of course, I should mention that if you do this project you will stick out a bit. People will see you and wonder what you are up to. You will have to explain what you are doing.

You will draw attention.

To prepare for this family activity, I wrote the following simple checklist of things to find at our local farmer’s market:

• Fruit
• Vegetable
• Bread
• People
• Something Interesting
• Self

So on a low-key Saturday we ate our lunch at the farmer’s market … and then we ALL went on a hunt to find the things on the list and take a photo of it. Each photo led us to meet new market vendors, find out more about what they offer as well as discover fruits and vegetables growing in mostly Florida at this time. This was not only a great, memorable activity to do together, but a fresh way to explore and get creative as a family. I noticed my family taking very special care to find not just any fruit or any vegetable but a really cool picture at the same time. Awesomely Awake Dad really got into the fun.

You could do this same scavenger hunt by drawing pictures as well if you don’t have cameras. You could also take turns with just one camera. You could also just find the items and check them off, the good old-fashioned way. There are no rules to making your own fun. Make it your own. Be original.

I have begun creating a list of other places for Scavenger Hunts that I hope we can do this spring and summer:

• Local Farms
• Parks
• Downtown, urban centers
• Special Day Trips
• Baseball game
• Woods
• Hiking trail
• Fruit picking

This was amazing, creative fun. There are many good reasons to use photography as a way to honor everyday moments. I’ll admit that even I, a writer above all, feel a different sense of being in the Now when I’m behind a camera. Photography uses a different part of my brain. I also recently began participating in an instagram photo project that inspires us to capture everyday beauty. Here are some of our photos. Can you guess which ones were shot by the children? You might be surprised to learn that all but two of them were!

How about you? Any scavenger hunts in your future? How do you turn ordinary days into magic?