Holidays – a chance to relax, recharge, reconnect, revitalise and learn. We’ve done all of those things in 5 days this week with gusto and glee.
We’ve recharged our batteries with new sights, new routines and new places. It’s made us even more appreciative of our families and friends, our wonderful lifestyle and our floating home. We recognise that we did the right thing for us by downshifting, downsizing and moving home and work afloat. That leads me to promise more on anniversaries next week!
We’ve loved immensely seeing those of all generations who we love, but haven’t seen for a long time thanks to circumstances and Covid.
We’ve benefited immensely from seeing life through the eyes of a considered 10-year-old and hugely enthusiastic 4-year-old, both absolutely delightful and thought-provoking company. Being with them this week was a huge treat.
With them we’ve learned about many things. Let’s start with alpacas: here’s a taste…they are camelids, their offspring are called crias, a female/male spit off is a pregnancy test, they have no top teeth, and their vocabulary includes hums, clicks and gentle mews. Also my sister in law has bred alpacas for decades now. She runs courses to share what she has learned with others so we were all fortunate to benefit from her encyclopaedic knowledge.
Away from the farm at an owl sanctuary we learned about the silent flight of the barn owl, how they look like a cloud to small rodents below (shades of Winnie the Pooh for me minus a balloon), and how the most common UK owl is the traditional twit-ter-wooing tawny.
We have returned to hearing and seeing owls regularly from the boat more informed about them and the pressures under which they live.
We also learned about the creative potential of electricity and the dangers of plastic watering cans and their capacity to hospitalise (neither of us fortunately). The latter is not our story to tell but we will ask permission to pass on what is a cautionary tale!
It has been lovely to be away, it is also lovely to be back and we were glad we made the decision to moor in a marina, albeit at the end of a very long pontoon!
We are back more determined than ever to make a bit of every day a holiday – to chill more (can we actually do that?), to maximise shorter respites like lunch breaks, spare hours and weekends.
“Vacations are considered a source of happiness and an essential ingredient for quality of life” said Filep (2012) and Richards, (1999). We concur but we’d add from our own lived research that narrowboats, friends and family are a vital source of happiness and absolutely essential ingredients for quality of life.
P.S. Boat dog you’ll be glad to hear has also enjoyed a break from us, is recovering well from his operation and now learning about life with even fewer teeth. He too is glad to be back home afloat.
Pickingupducks 