Sandcastles, buckets and spades

She used to sit long hours on the beach gazing intently at the waves as they chafed with perpetual motion against the pebbly shore....Elizabeth Gaskell

For over 20 years during school holidays I have sat on the beaches of North Norfolk and Elizabeth's quote sums it up so well. Watching my three children on the unspoilt beaches playing their imaginary games, building sandcastles knowing they will crumble when a wave laps over them as the tide comes in. Spending lazy days picnicking on cheese rolls with a nice crunch of sand, paddling in the warm surf of the waves, digging moats and catching crabs, then releasing them at the end of the day and watching them scurry back to their watery home. Collecting shells, eating up ice creams before they melt...oh and fish and chips eaten out of the paper on the beach.... idyllic bucket and spade holidays, but I was always watchful, so had little time to myself. Although I did get to sail some paper boats.....I do like to think they reached their destination.

You know sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for....now they are grown up I have so much time to myself  its difficult to adjust. I do miss the hustle and bustle of our life with a house full of children. But time I am sure will help, time for changes and time for me after 27 years of watching and protecting them. I still have that protective instinct, but watching them step out as young people their lives ahead of them, makes me feel proud, knowing I have helped them on their way :)

 

Do you build sandcastles in the air, or on the beach?

I build them in the air, and no one else can see them. It's like my secret little castle that I like to run around in while people around look at me strangely.

Happy days love M x