emigrant · Parenting

Big Skies, No Toys

Warning – this is a photo  heavy post that may have you yearning for blue skies and sunshine.

There are two things I loved about our days at the beach at home in Ireland this summer. Big skies and no toys. Arriving with nothing but togs, towels and that most essential of Irish beach kit, hope, we spent several days at the beaches of Laytown and Bettystown. Last year we ventured further afield, to Mayo and Wicklow, but this year, short on time and blessed with decent weather, we stayed local.

Watching  the ever-changing cloud formations.

Spotting ships on the horizon.

Walking into the wind.

Paddling barefoot in saltwater pools.

Prodding seaweed in search of crabs.

Feeling the sand, dry and powdery, wet and squelchy, hard and bumpy, underfoot.

Investigating.

Exploring.

Wondering.

Finding crabs, alive and dead.

Discovering jellyfish we’d just missed stepping on.

Marvelling at the reflections of clouds in pools.

 

All that before we even dipped our toes in the sea. Before a wave lapped over our feet. Before the hems of shorts got wet. Before togs were put on and the splashing we came for began.

All that entertainment, all that learning, all those Irish beach memories.

Big skies, no toys.

4 thoughts on “Big Skies, No Toys

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.