summer holidays

As I write it seems that summer is well and truly over.  


It was my first ever summer holidays at home with my children and a thoroughly enjoyable one too. I learned so much just hanging out with them every day. The most important lesson: slow down. It's so important to take time just to be (as opposed to do).

We lay down on the floor face to face and chatted about nonsense.


We read stories. And made some up too.


We went camping and toasted marshmallows round the bonfire, made new friends and fed pigs.

We climbed St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall and imagined pirates coming to catch us.


We swam and sunbathed at the lido, the Frog perfected her diving and Rowdy and I rated her, Olympic style. Then we all pretended to be synchronised swimmers.


We saw Toy Story at the cinema and battled with the 3D specs.


We explored parts of Kew Gardens we'd never been to before and made camp under the branches of a tree while it poured with rain outside.


We ate a lot of picnics!


But mostly we didn't do much at all - just hung out together and enjoyed each other.  


Awe & Wonder at its most profound.