And whoosh, our week in Cornwall whizzed by in a flash... you count weeks and days until the holiday arrives, and then it's all done and it's time to go home...
I hope we can still go all together to Cornwall for another couple of years, but then who knows. Children grow up, have their own lives to live and their own plans and ideas.
We've been staying for holidays in Perranuthnoe every summer since Eddie turned one year old. That year my Mum visited with us. We stayed in a small cramped cottage, and I have fond memories of Eddie seeing the sea for the very first time. He wasn't impressed.
Sasha loves Cornwall. We have a social story (photos, symbols and short text) about going to Cornwall, which he enjoys to read on a daily basis. He is mesmerised by the sea. The waves tell hims stories, and he waves his own arms as a conductor to the sea orchestra.
For Saturday evening we booked a table at the Godolphin Arms in Marazion, just opposite St Michael's Mount. The view is amazing, and the food was decent.
We ordered drinks (I had half a pint of the local ale called Tribute, as it made me think of Hunger Games and the tributes), and were admiring the view. There was a light breeze from the open window.
Whenever I am going to look at this tranquil image, I will remember what happened next during our dinner. My husband coughed and startled Sash, who got scared and flew into one of his anxiety attacks, hitting himself on the head, shouting and crying.
We were sitting in a kind of a side room, with just one long table for our company, and nobody directly next to us. I was very upset that such a lovely evening turned ugly so fast, and even more upset on Sasha's behalf as he was genuinely distressed.
Thankfully, the anxiety attack didn't last more than ten minutes, but we hastened to finish the meal and leave the place. And then my darling boy was calm and smiling, as if nothing has happened.
Our days in Cornwall fall under the same routine. In the first half of the day we go to the sandy beach in the village for surfing, running, football etc.
In the evening we often take a scenic walk along the coast towards Marazion and St Michael's Mount towards the rocky beach.
I'm sure it's not called the rocky beach, but that's what we call it. It's a beautiful walk with the views over the Mount's Bay. It might be a bit repetetive, but the familiarity is part of Sasha's equilibrium, he doesn't easily take to changes, and we do love this walk.
Sometimes we stop by in the local church of St Michael and St Piran. This is the image of St Piran above the entrance door inside the church.
I can never get bored of looking at St Michael's Mount.
A couple of years ago I read a book about the raid on Penzance by the Barbary pirates in 1640, when 60 locals including women and children were taken captive during the church service and taken as Christian slaves to Algiers. The pirates sailed past St Michael's Mount, but deemed it too much trouble to attack and instead went into town for an easy prey.
Eddie had a blast, surfing, laughing with his friend P, who stayed with us.
For years now, ever since Eddie was three years old, he and I have been doing an "obligatory" jumping on the beach photo. One of us is getting taller and more handsome, another one is getting shorter and chunkier, but at least I can still jump.
I'm glad that my boy doesn't mind taking part in something silly like that and doesn't seem to be embarrassed by his mother.
On Friday we packed our bags and said Good bye to our cottage and Perranuthnoe. For the last several years we went to Newlyn to have brunch before a long journey back home.
This time we decided to visit Padstow instead. The town was just one seething mass of tourists. We did manage to get a table at the Greens of Padstow, with the lovely views over the estuary. It was stifling hot to sit outside, however, the food was tasty.
I didn't want anything too heavy, and opted for a salad of burrata and tomatoes.
This photo was taken on the last evening of our holiday - the sunset over the Mount's Bay. Eddie said the sun looked like something out of Star Wars.
