Thursday 28 February 2013

Thankful

Sometimes I can't believe that we live here. We are so blessed to be able to walk out our house and down the road and see this.

I was ten when our family moved to Newquay from Surrey. It was so exciting. What an exchange! We spent every spare moment at the beach, we'd go straight from school and often mum packed up a dinner and we'd eat it sat together on blankets, before running back into the sea. We'd drag ourselves back home (with pockets weighed down with shells and seaglass) so exhausted that after the sand was all showered off, we'd sleep so deeply in our beds. We walked barefoot and wore our hair in long plaits down our backs. We collected washed up jellyfish and scratched our names into the cliff. The summer felt so long. It's like in my mind all time between 2000-2004 was one long summer.
But slowly the novelty wore off. I turned 14 and I craved gigs, art exhibitions, even just a shop that sold Dazed and confused! I spent all my teens wishing I was in London. I was sick of 'the narrow minded people of the countryside, why does everyone stare at me when I get on the bus, Whats so weird about wearing a bright green leotard and David Bowie makeup to college?!' (True story- cringe!) I began to spend more time on myspace than on the beach and before I knew it, it was years before I'd been in the sea... and it was right outside our house! I felt bitter about our move down south and this became worse when Liam and I rekindled our friendship. He lived back in Surrey and I missed him so... but fast forward a few years, Liam learnt to drive, we fell in love and he joined me down here. We took day trips to neighbouring towns and walked for hours along the beaches. Slowly, slowly the sea drew me back.
And I'm here to stay. I can't really imagine life any other way. I'm so glad we can bring Queenie up in this environment. We have to make sure we get out there. I'm aware it's so easy to get caught up in every day things, to walk round to Aldi to buy some flour and not even look twice at these incredible sights. I'm making an effort to spend a lot of time on the beach. Today's the last day of winter and this spring and summer I want to recreate those feelings I had as a ten year old. To eat alfresco and feel sand on my toes, to swim in the ocean. To build castles and walk across the beaches when the tide is low.

These photographs are from a walk last monday with my sisters (and sister-from-another-mother.) The sun shone so bright and cold wind whipped our faces and we felt so alive. We saw dolphins and a seal out across the bay and laughed and they fought over who would carry Queenie next. We get to take these walks every day if we wanted. This is our home. God has been good to us to call us here.

2 comments:

  1. i miss you all!!! cant wait for walks at easter! xxx

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  2. Beautiful & stylish group of ladies!

    ReplyDelete