joie de vivre

We were lucky enough to spend a weekend on the north coast just before school started back and the routine kicked in. I can't quite put into adequate words the effect that spending time here has on me, and on us as a family. There is just something about being removed from your everyday surroundings and transplanted into that rugged, mythical landscape that allows my body to heave a sigh of relief and relax into a slower way of life for a few days. Admittedly, it takes a while to adjust to the total lack of internet access, or even 3G, but it is good, this disconnecting from the other busy life we lead.As I was flicking through the photographs I took that weekend, there was a sequence that really sums up in images what time spent in Bushmills, Portrush and Portstewart does to us. It brings joy. Just. That.On this sombre weekend it has been good for me to remember that my life is full of joy. Too often I don't stop to look for it, but it is there. This week I am promising myself that in the midst of the running to and from activities, in Tesco, in the middle of a difficult lesson, and when I'm refereeing the bickering for the 14th time in an hour, I will stop and look around me and find a glimmer of that joy. I hope you see it too.