Over four generations of family roots, a childhood spent exploring the Lake District and a change of heart about the place she couldn't wait to leave. Meet Emma Thomson, a Kendamil team member and mom to five-year-old Rowan.
Growing Up in the Lakes
When you tell people you've grown up in the Lake District, the response is usually, "Oh, you're so lucky!" For Emma Thomson, though, living somewhere surrounded by countryside wasn't quite as exciting as it sounds, particularly when she was a teenager dreaming of bigger cities and better shopping. "I can't lie, when I was younger I felt like living in the countryside meant living in the middle of nowhere! All I wanted was to live in a big city with tons of stores and things to do. I don't think I really appreciated what we had here at all."
Weekends often meant getting in the car with her family and heading into the Lakes, finding somewhere for a walk, stopping for lunch or ice cream and generally making a day of it. Emma's roots in the area go back much further than her own childhood, too. Her parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and beyond were all born and raised around Kendal, and she's become increasingly interested in tracing the family's history even further back.
Growing up, those connections were just normal. Grandparents lived nearby, her parents seemed to know everybody and a trip into Kendal usually involved running into someone familiar. It's the sort of thing that can be mildly embarrassing when you're younger, although Emma now appreciates that sense of community much more.
Turns Out, Home Wasn't So Bad
Despite those family roots, Emma was convinced she'd eventually live somewhere else. Moving to the University of York felt like the perfect opportunity to experience city life, and she genuinely thought she wouldn't come back. It didn't take long for her to start missing home. "When I left, I thought I'd never come home, but soon enough I missed life in the Lakes SO much. I think sometimes you need to go away to realize how good you've actually got it." She missed the countryside, the familiarity of Kendal and the freedom to head into the Lakes whenever she wanted. She also realized she could still visit Manchester or Liverpool for shopping, concerts and a bit of city life without having to live in the middle of it. Eventually, despite all those teenage declarations, she moved home. It turns out leaving was probably what helped her appreciate it.
Seeing It Through Her Son’s Eyes
Now Emma is raising her five-year-old son, Rowan, in the same area, and spending her weekends doing many of the things she remembers doing with her parents. Fell Foot Park, Wray Castle, Ambleside, Millerground and the area around Windermere are among their regular favorites. There's usually a stroll, somewhere for Rowan to play and a stop for something to eat. "We're definitely not the family doing a peaceful 10-mile mountain hike at 7 a.m.!"
It's rarely an elaborate plan, which is exactly what Emma likes. Sometimes the best days are the ones where everyone gets in the car and decides where to go on the way. She'll occasionally find herself somewhere she visited as a child and realize she's now doing almost exactly the same thing with Rowan. "Places I probably took for granted growing up now feel really special because I'm getting to experience them again through Rowan."
From Kendal to Families Around the World
Emma's connection to the area is also part of her working life. As a member of Kendamil's team, she helps manage email communications with parents across the UK, US, Canada and beyond.
"There's something slightly surreal about sending an email from Kendal that will end up in a parent's inbox thousands of miles away."
Being a mom shapes the way she approaches that work, too. Emma knows how overwhelming parenting information can feel and believes brands should offer something genuinely useful rather than adding to the noise. "Parents don't always need another company talking at them. Sometimes they just need genuinely useful information, a bit of reassurance, or the sense that someone actually understands what life with children is like."
As for Rowan, there's every chance he'll grow up deciding Kendal is far too quiet and dreaming of living somewhere bigger. Emma can hardly complain if he does. For now, she's happy he's making memories in the same places that generations of their family have called home, and she hopes he'll remember the ordinary weekends, spontaneous adventures, and time spent together.
Teenage Emma might not have believed it, but home turned out to be a pretty good place to end up.
