Who's the Flow Man?

The four year old doesn't particularly like to conform to anyone else's schedule. However, he still wants to know what the plan is. Constantly. "Will that be in the morning?"  "When we get home, can I...?" "Are we going back to the house?" "Is Better Homes and Gardens on tonight?" (He has a real thing about Better Homes and Gardens.)

Andy tried "Just go with the flow, man."

Clem: "Who's the Flow Man?"

NevermindandcanIstrangleyounowformakinguslaughwhenyouwerejustbeingsofrustrating?

We were lucky enough to have the use of my lovely boss's beach house this weekend. Even though Clem was incapable of going with the flow man whenever we were in the car, on the beach he was pretty much the flow man himself.

little shoe fits in big shoe for safekeeping

Every time we get our kids on the beach we wonder why we don't do it more often. I'm not the world's most beachy person but I could watch my kids enjoying it forever. And give me a patch of sea-rounded pebbles or trillions of tiny shells to comb through and I'm happy.

We always come home from the beach with pockets and buckets of treasures. Recently we've figured out what to do with them. They've become a little layered, scattered nest of 'offerings' at the foot of a tree outside our front door.

It's a tree with special memories for us and the offerings help it continue to feel special. And I can throw out carefully scatter those treasures and when someone asks "where's my beautiful stick/stone/shell" I can point them in the right direction and they don't have to get too huffy at me because it's a special place, right?

Memories are precious things and it feels good to find the 'right' way to honour something. This week an old school friend lost her husband, in the blink of an eye. I can't imagine how you can begin to compile, condense and hold on to memories in such a situation. I felt so privileged to be spending the weekend with my whole family.

And I made sure I did not spend every moment behind the camera. (I swear, I knew the battery was going to run out and I decided not to pack the charger.)

Did you know that when it rains, dried up old pinecones close back up, and open again when they dry out?

- Jane x