Wednesday, February 4, 2015

three...shelter

I'm being really cheeky and posting for yesterday, tonight!.....

...from Shelterco   http://instagram.com/p/pKDGk_k4h9/

We bought a new tent. Not this one. A good canvas one though. Second hand. We love camping and yet don't get to do it often enough, apart from the odd pseudo camp out in the back garden. I sleep like a baby in a tent, especially on a mild summer's day with a breeze blowing through the mesh. I long to go camping and catch up on sleep, and see those stars.

I spent a year traveling around in a van, sleeping by beaches, in forests, by noisy highways, and in strangers' driveways. And I spent 5 weeks in Greece many, many years before that, sleeping on a straw mat on beaches, roof tops, and verandahs. I remember taking a bus back to my crowded London flat after that trip, wondering how I would be able to sleep in a room with a roof let alone one shared with five other people..

These are lovely memories. Freedom and spontaneity, adventure. I funded my way around the country by hair-wrapping and upcycling baby clothes, following festivals and markets and meeting fellow nomads. 

When Martino was very young, he made his way to Armenia in search of a duduk, chopped trees on a French Farm, took Didgeridoos to New York, and cycled through the desert.  

Perhaps I'm led to posting this tonight because we've found ourselves in a life very much held by routine; very far from those selves who lived out on a limb. I think those histories have lent a resourcefulness to our present selves, as well as an appreciation for groundedness, digging in and moving into and through. I hope our kids can have a taste of both, I hope there is opportunity for them to travel and adventure and live a little bit on the fringe but also a sense of home and stillness when needed.

Did you go a roamin'? Are you still a roamin' now? Or are you digging in?






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