The Reasons
Pairing Days came to me as a result of many factors. But essentially came about because I wanted to set-up a special day for one-on-one time for members of my family. Paring Days would mean that I would have at least one special day each year with each of my children that would be dedicated to us spending time together - just the two of us. Maybe you would like to set-up something similar for your family?For more details on the reasons behind Pairing Days see below, or skip to The Genisys
First was the growing awareness, that compared with my parents, and particularly my grandparents, the days of my life were lacking the deep rituals and ceremonies normally created by deep religious beliefs. The only significant communal events in my life are: birthdays, Christmas, weddings, christenings and funerals - oh yes, and vaguely Easter. Having no strong personal "traditional" religious beliefs, even these ceremonies, in many cases, had less significance for me.
Second, were my life observations of communications between people. When I meet my closest friends, even though I love Wendy (my wife), she understands that it is important for me to spend time with them "one-on-one" - just the two of us as a
pair. The conversations, the therapy, the contact - gained by pairing is unique, special - and obviously should be encouraged. This goes for all the people in my life: my daughters, my brother, my Mum, my Dad, my closest friends - I need to spend pairing time with them alone, as well as spending time together in with them in groups. When you spend "pairing time", the conversation can range across the many personal topics we all have, that can often not be expressed in a group conversation (because, maybe it is too personal or, maybe the rest of the group may not be interested or become bored).Next, were my daughters - they were already well over half-way through their time living at home (Rowan was 9, Rachel 11 when in 1996 the idea of Pairing Days emerged). Once they left, how much would we see each other?
And then there was the trend occurring with my closer life friends - What was with this gradual decline over the years? We don't see each other as much as we used to - even though I know we think all about each other all the time. All this lead to the Genesis of the idea...
