The Seaside

This year, same as last year, we are not going on holiday,not going to spend time at the seaside and this makes me sad. 

I see lots of people going on holiday and I want to go too.

Not anywhere fancy,just somewhere where the boys can see and play and spend time near the sea. 

The sort of time where you just sit on a beach and watch the sea and look in rock pools and spend time together. 

For me a holiday is not about the place but more about the people you are with. It's about time spent together and memories made. You could probably plonk me anywhere and I would be ok as long as I had my people around me. To me life is about people first and all the other stuff comes after people. 

But the sea....the sea. 

Not the amusements or the crowded airports or the fancy swimming pools or any of the razzmatazz that come with holidays,just the sea. 

But it's not to be,so I've had to look for things to make me happy closer to home. And that's not so easy when your heart wants what everybody around you has. 

The choice is though, be sad because you can't get to the sea or make the most of your time off work because all too soon you will be back at work and the boys will be back at school and the routine will begin again and as I full well know,you can't get time back,so don't waste it. 

With this in mind I have been trolling around the outdoors around our town and have found what I probably was looking for in the first place,smiles from those nearest and dearest to me. Isn't it ironic that we sometimes think we want a place when really its the people around us that make the place come alive,well for me it's that way. And last week I had three reminders of that very fact. 

The first came on a visit to the duckpond. How many times do I go to feed the ducks....millions of squillions of times! I probably know each duck by name and am their most regular visitor. Hardly a trip to see the sea. But the boys took a football and it was that what I will remember. They played so beautifully together. Blasting a ball around,chasing after it,their voices echoing around as they played. It was good to watch. My boys are getting older now and there is not as much opportunity to see them play together,that was the magic I needed to see because it was those moments that I will remember...the laughter between the boys and the squeals as young Chips tried to get the ball back from his big brother. And the grace and ease that Sharky moved around that field.

I loved to watch it. I knew I was seeing magic and I stored it in my head as moments to remember.

Then the next day we ended up at a little ice cream parlour for afternoon tea. Sat round a table where some of my nearest and dearest people. The day was bright and sunny and I sat and drank in the atmosphere. It was catch a smile moment! Lots of laughs and smiley faces and just a feel of ease. I knew it was a moment to savour and I did.

The day after was Sharky's birthday and we had a family tea. And again it was that feeling of seeing lots of people,young and old,smiling and getting on together.

This may not have been the school holiday full of exciting places to visit but it has still had plenty of nice little moments to catch hold of and added together they make a great big happy picture and maybe that place is the best place in the world anyway.

Linking up with Jaimes Magic Moments and looking forward to seeing what everybody else has been getting up too.