Turia Pitt and her husband Michael welcomed their first child — a little boy they named Hakavai — just under two years ago.
Love at first sight
Since then, Turia’s being sharing the triumphs and tricky bits of parenting via her Instagram account, with her latest post particularly one to sit up and take note of. (I mean, naturally they’re all pretty compelling, but this week’s update was a brilliant reminder and gets an extra special mention!)
In her latest missive, Turia reveals she records lots of Hakavai’s ‘firsts’ for posterity.
We’re talking things like first step … first wear of gangsta cap. Yep, we really liked that second one too.
“His first proper smile happened at 5 weeks, he held his own bottle for the first time at 14 weeks, first teeth came through at 24 weeks. There’s lots of other things, big and small, jotted down on the list.”
As lovely as imaginings of Hakavai’s excellent efforts are, Turia says she actually is less of a ‘milestone’ person than you might think. In fact, she admits, she has kind of given up on noting down these kinds of firsts. It’s all for a very good reason. We’ll let Turia explain.
“The best times I’ve had with Hakavai weren’t based around the milestones. The best times are the really small moments. The ones that might otherwise pass you by. Like watching him play with his toys in the early morning light, marvelling at his tiny fingers as he moves blocks around with intense focus.”
The little things really are the big things, and sometimes we do need reminding of that. Thanks, TP!
It’s also clear that this soon-to-be-mum-of-two is learning as much from her little boy as he’s learning from her.
For instance, he’s shown her that some of the best bits of life are based on being in the moment, being open to what’s unfolding around you and being self-aware. A lot of being, granted, but important being we think you’ll agree.
“You don’t have to finish every task you’ve set out to achieve this year,” Turia points out, perhaps again taking inspiration from her cute kiddo and his curious, awe-struck approach to the world.
“If you’re not getting any value out of the process, if there’s no delight in it for you, if there’s no greater reason behind it, you don’t have to keep going,” she continues.
“Don’t spend your life checking off some list because ‘you should’ do it. Your time is precious. Spend it on the stuff that’s actually precious to you.”
Like snuggling with your toddler. Or growing a whole new baby. In Turia’s case, at least.
More excellent advice from an excellent human. Carry it with you today and things are sure to be much peachier.
