MODERN FAMILY
THERE are some places that get into your blood, that become part of your history, and hold an extra-special place in your heart.
To others it might not look like much but to you it is that happy place where memories are always framed in a rosy glow, where the sun shines even when it was pouring with rain and just the thought of it brings a smile to your face.
For as long as I can remember our family have had a holiday place on the north coast of Ireland – think Pembrokeshire with its rugged cliffs, swirling seas and beautiful beaches, and you get the idea.
It is a place where I’ve gone with my family every summer of my life.
When I was a child it was the place where we celebrated Easter, the long summer holidays, and weekends from April until October.
When I was a child my parents would have to drag me away from the playground at night, and friends made then are still in touch today.
As teenagers my friends and I lived and worked there, picking up seasonal work in the bed and breakfasts, cafes and pubs that sparked into life during the summer months.
Then when I had children of my own it very quickly turned into our holiday destination of choice for more than a decade. A safe and happy place where they felt comfortable and had so much freedom.
Time marched on and it was my turn to call the children in from their fun, to stand at the water’s edge and laugh as they dived head first into the waves, and to help them find what lay beneath the water in the nearby rockpools.
Like all good things, though, it had to come to an end and last week we had to say goodbye to this happiest of happy places. Circumstances have changed and we had to let go of this part of our family history.
Heading up for the final clear-out was bittersweet. I couldn’t help but frequently pause and think “This will be the last time”, but still smiled when a memory popped up.
Opening drawers and finding photographs of smiling, happy faces, little ornaments that had been picked up at the local fairground, even our favourite coffee mugs brought those wonderful memories rushing back.
As we left for the last time I was clutching my box of my favourite mementoes, minus the chipped and faded ornament with three owls on the branch of a tree that I won on the coconut shy when I was seven. They had been very kind and understanding but they drew the line at this and said there was no way it was coming back to Wales.
There was laughter through the tears, it was emotional, it was sad, but also positive because we are lucky to have so many good memories – and nothing can take those away.