Drunk On Fresh Air

J is spending a little bit of time away from work in the run up to Christmas this year and we've been counting down the weeks for quite some time. 

Ages ago, when these precious days were marked in big happy letters on the calendar, I asked J if he might take me to see the sea one day, just the two of us, just because we could. We have just over six hours in a school day, so we figured it was do-able and I can't tell you how very, very much I've been looking forward to it. 

I didn't care if it was raining (it wasn't) and I didn't care if it was freezing cold (it was). I just wanted to wrap up warm, wander on the vast sandy beach, stroll leisurely along the deserted promenade and drink a mighty fine Italian coffee in our favourite little cafe on the pier.

So this morning saw us walking along the beautifully quiet beach at St Annes on the Fylde coast - you might remember we spent a few days there back in February. It's such a lovely, peaceful kind of a place in winter time, very good for mind, heart and soul. 

Our agenda was sparse and consisted of slow walking, gentle pottering, good coffee and a little picnic. We talked a lot, laughed a lot too. 

In some ways it felt a bit strange to be without any accompanying Little People (I kind of felt we should have had a dog, as pretty much everyone else we saw was dog walking), but it was rather lovely to be just the two of us.

As the hours passed, I felt myself slowly filling up with giddy joy. The wide open views, the break from routine, the gentle exercise, the laughter, the soft winter light, the togetherness. But it was the fresh sea air that filled me the most, I just couldn't breathe it in deeply enough. 

On the way home in the car, I suddenly had a flash of a memory - I recalled a beautiful paper cut by the fabulously talented Rob Ryan. I couldn't remember the exact words, but I knew that they perfectly described this kind of a day.....

 

'Can We? Shall We? One day very soon, let us go away together just you and me. Can We? Shall We? Call in sick one day and travel to the sea and hold hands all day. Can We? Shall We? Eat our sandwiches on the train, get drunk on fresh air and come home tired and never tell anyone.... Ever'

Exactly that....except of course I've shared it with you...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Kathleen O'Neill]

Lovely poem Lucy...yes we all need to get away to our happy place and remember what it feels like to just Be You, even for a little while....🤗

[Postcard from Gibraltar]

What a wonderful post and such a lovely sentiment at the end, thank you for sharing it, it made me smile x

[Laura]

Woooooooow! LOVE it!

[Karen Dodgson]

St Anne's! Our most favourite seaside place! We have holidayed there for fifty years now, and spend an annual weekend in summer with the whole family. My hubby retires next week, and we have booked a few days there in January to celebrate, pootling around and making good use of the walking boots we have bought each other for Christmas. We may even hire one of the shiny new beach huts for a day!
Your day looks perfect, I can't imagine a nicer way to spend it x

[Linda]

What a special day for the two of you! And how lucky you are to be so close to two coasts! Here in Texas where distances are so great, we think nothing of driving 50 miles, and not much more of driving 90. It's a common occurrence. But our closest beach is on the Gulf coast about an 8 hour drive, 12 if you go to the very southernmost part (my favorite for it's long, long clean beach) Sadly, not many visits to the coast for us.

[Teresa Kasner]

How wise and wonderful of you two to take that time and do something memorable and heartening. Thanks for sharing it with us.. maybe you'll inspire all of us to be so smart. LOVE that paper cut and the poem. We do that deep breathing when we take our caravan to the beach for a week each spring and fall for our birthdays. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉
*M*E*R*R*Y* *C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S*!*
❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉

[Rose Hester]

So lovely, it is making me want to go to the beach. Muir Woods is very close here. It is a walk among tall redwoods and if it is raining even better. Grab a hot chocolate and sit under the trees. Some times I forget about all the beauty around me. Reading your posts is a reminder of how nature can restore our souls. Thank you for sharing.

[Helen]

It's lovely on St Annes' beach isn't it? Our dogs love it. But I bet it was freezing!

[Janis Taylor]

Perfect!!!!! Making memories is always fun :)

[Rae]

A purely blissful day Lucy. We went to the sea yesterday......a long way from your sea....we were at Wells next the Sea in Norfolk. It was mild, damp and misty you could just about see the RNLI building at the end of the harbour inlet, but I enjoyed every minute. Wells has been my go to coastal trip ever since I've existed. The fish & chips we enjoyed were from a third generation family owned business that's been there for more than 90 years.....so all my life too. It's the little things in life that really matter x

[Brenda Cupryna]

lovely post. love the woodcut and poem. DH and I celebrate 45 years married this Sunday and I hope next week to get away to the sea, which I also love

[Peta Cowan]

That is beautiful, I want to capture the poem and put it somewhere in a frame!! Thank you for sharing!
Peta Cowan

[Vikki]

So glad you love my local beach as much as I do! I'm a "sand grown'un'" .... someone born and bred here on the Fylde Coast - I've lived here all my life and wouldn't want to live anywhere else! I'm looking forward to sitting here in my little cottage by the sea, thinking of your beautiful Moorland home while doing the CAL with you in just a few weeks! xx

[Zoe]

Beautiful!

[Juliana]

Lovely...Thank you for sharing your lovely day.

[Yvonne]

That sounds so lovely. Just what I could do with at the moment ... My head is all over the place. Looking forward to the xmas hols to relax a little if possible. Von x

[Suzana Behmer]

How perfectly wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kimmy]

And so glad you did share, Lucy! Since we have no kids, Denny and I do this all the time. Sometimes we're joined by friends, but quite frequently it's just the two of us. Buddy the Cat is at home. What did you name yours?

[Sharrie]

How lovely. Enjoy those moments that are just for your two. :)

[Angela-Southern USA]

Just wonderful! Good for you!

[Monica]

Lucy, thank you for sharing your precious day with us. I haven't seen that poem before, but I might tuck it away in my memory bank and use it on my husband sometime! Love Monica

[Joan]

Sounds wonderful Lucy,thank you for sharing this precious time X

[Jennie Craine]

Ah, "me time" as a couple is so important and when you have children, the tendancy is always to put them first and yourselves last. I am so glad you upped the anti and ran away to the beach for a few hours! We used to do something similar (needed so much as we were "late parents" - I was 34 before our first baby was born) and I can remember how good it felt to escape for a bit!

[Vicky]

It's the simple things in life that give the most joy to our hearts.
Love
Nature
and yarn! 😉

[Carol]

Oh Lucy, what a lovely day out and a great poem.