Natural Peace

My Dad and Grandpa love to cook the barbecue and they chat the whole time. Ralphy, our bull dog, is never far from the barbecue, ready to snatch a stray morsel. My little brother, Joey, is a keen scout and works on photographing insects for his next Nature Explorer badge. My little little cousin, Eliza, follows him, eager to help and identify new creatures: everything is new to her and it’s pretty cute. My big brother Tom takes his book to the trees to get away from the little ‘annoying bugs’ below. That ok, he’s pretty annoying himself. Grandma has just pulled an apple pie from nowhere for after Dads sausages! How did she even manage it? That woman can COOK!! My Mum pours tea and tosses me a sweet snack just as I return from a long walk to find the season’s wildflowers: a sea of red, pinks and yellows.

I have never been, and doubt I ever will be again, quite as at a natural peace as I was then.