Sunday, February 3, 2013

The coast is the place where I feel most calm.

Throughout my year in Northumberland, the one thing that has retrieved my believe in myself and any potential future I have here is my love of the glorious coastline here. Whenever I feel that all my worries are squashing the life out of me, if I can, Welly and I retreat to the coast. We walk, we sit, we watch the waves and I build silly little towers of stone. Its very restorative, and calming. It turns a day into a holiday. It empties my mind of my divorce and my lost french life. If the children come with me I am sure it helps them too. They have had the most enormous wrench imposed on them and I need them to survive.

I had deleted many of my early blogs here which contained many of my coastal pictures because they felt like a feedback loop. Whilst the coast provides relieve, it also reminded me that I had very very dark days. Days when I felt the only escape was to wade into the water and let the tide consume me. However my pictures are now reminding me of what I have to do when the bleakness sets in. Walk, breathe and notice small details of nature. 

I always knew the power that the sea had on me. But visiting Druridge for the first time since our return to the UK reminded me that I would need a strong relationship with the coast to survive this enormous stressfull change. It was March 23rd 2012. A beautiful day in Hexham. I needed a happy day with the children to remind them we would be OK. So we headed northeast, and straight into a sea fret!


Welly had never seen the sea before and the kids havent grown up with it in the way that I had. The waves were fascinating to them and terrifying for Welly!





Welly can't make out what to do with the waves. Water you can't drink and it moves all the time!


Cold north sea. Dont get wet I reminded them we have no spare clothes.


Getting wetter by the minute but he doesn't seem to mind! Yet.....






Wet clothes now caked in sand.... but look at the smile!


Dune duty... one most tumble down them!


Now he's cold!


Welly strikes a bum pose in the family photo!

It was a very happy dune day. The sea air had worked its magic on me and the kids! 

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