I'm back from the half-term camping trip. We went over to our favourite place, in Pembrokeshire. We swam in the sea - very briefly, in my case, as it was painfully cold; we ate fish and chips; we climbed Carn Ingli, whose head was in the clouds: Katie recalled our ascent of the Pyrenees, five years ago, when we drove up into the clouds and she was a little disappointed to find that they didn't feel like cotton wool.
We did a lot of recalling; like when we stopped in Cardiff to see our old friend the woolly mammoth in the museum, which scared and fascinated Katie when she first saw it, and we've made a point of popping in to see it whenever we're in that neck of the woods. There's a lot of change in the air for Katie; a new start in a secondary school, and adolescence starting to kick in. So for a little while we found some comfort in the familiar shared experiences, and wondered what the future would bring for both of us.
I think I'd go for the fish and chips rather than a swim at the moment. I thought that Katie was a lot older than that.
ReplyDeleteI always used to point out the whale's jawbone in the park at Evesham to my children on our trips home. I wonder it it's still there..
You went for a swim! Brrr...
ReplyDeleteClouds are much prettier on the outside than the inside... maybe I'm just not seeing the silver lining clearly...
You certainly feel like you've earned the fish and chips after a dip, though...
ReplyDeleteDarn, I came past Evesham on Friday night, because I had to go across country when the M5 was closed after an accident. Never heard of the whale jaw; that can be another expedition sometime.
I agree, Caroline; but there's always the hope that you may emerge above the clouds and find yourself in sunshine, looking down on a cloudy sea.
Yes though if you are upside down in cloud that will take longer than if you weren't... :-)
ReplyDeletePrecious times Dru. You are laying down something solid and durable for Katie, as she moves forward in her life and you yours. Important stuff.
ReplyDeleteMaking memories in the present, contemplating the past and future too, what a lovely full day.
ReplyDeleteYou could have a point there, Caroline. The full version of the title is something to do with an old RAF line-shoot: "There I was, upside down in cloud without a map, nothing on the clock but the maker's name (and that was in Hindustani)...." and so on and on for quite a long time...
ReplyDeleteIt is, Jo. Another thing I looked back at while we were there, was a trip we made in April 2001, when I was plucking up the courage to 'come out'. It seems a long way away now, that doubt and fear and feeling of so-far-to-go. I hope your journey takes you at least as far.
You said it, fineartist. :-)