The above photo was taken last year during our holiday at my family cottage just 1.5 hours away from the city where I usually spend my days. To me, there is no other place in the world as special or as comforting.
When I was a child, this spot was the one place I could run free and wild and leave my city life far behind. It was also the one place, in the care of my grandparents, when life seemed easy and the rules simple: Be kind to others, treat nature with respect and be your own guide.
On this beach, I was able to leave behind all the pressures of my chaotic homelife - my parents divorce which lasted 7 years, days full of organized activities (school, drama, art lessons, music lessons, soccer etc...), pressures from friends and others - almost everything, and recharge.
After every summer, when I packed up to leave my summer refuge, I was struck by my mixed feelings: sad to be leaving my days in the sun and sand, but happy and reenergized, ready to return to my everyday life.
As I grew older, and life, work, kids and repsonsibility took over, months spent at my family cottage were restricted to weeks, then days, at a time. The ability to rewind and remember, review and reflect and recharge my energy, was reduced to tiny fragments.
After a year of reflection and looking inward, I have come to the realization that I need to have that feeling again. I need to take a resonable amount of time out to run free with my family on the beach and build nothing more than a sandcastle or two.
We are finally taking the summer off as a family to rewind, review and recharge. Although we can't spend the entire summer at our family place, we will be very close by at a place we rented for the summer. I realize, that the most important thing I can give my own family is the time to be together without all the distractions that we face daily.
On the business side, this means 2 changes will be occurring: 1) although I won't be making any new pieces for the next 2 months, I will be shipping my existing stock and 2) When I do return to the sudio in September, I expect to be jumping at the chance to form new pieces with new enthusiasm and perspective.
I will post more pics of my lovely retreat soon. For now, how a lovely summer:) Penny
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