“The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”

I remember when Samara was little (I am always saying this...) and she would never, ever sleep! The sun was shining that summer '08 and I was missing those lazy afternoons lying in the grass with Marina. Well...I decided to set up a couple of umbrellas, some blankets and whip out the bikini, given that no poor soul was going to see me that day. I sat out there with my littlest sister and even littler Samara and managed to wangle it so that about half of my c-severed stretched out tummy got some sun, and maybe a few of my toes. I fed Samara in the summer breeze, the sun beating down, the seagulls wondering what kind of food was this... and she fell asleep. There, in the ocean air, my little energizer bunny found the peace to close her eyes. For two hours she slept, perhaps her longest nap in her short life. I ended up back reading a few chapters of What To Expect - The First Year (utter rubbish when you have a baby like ours who fits no mold!) and then got quite bored with just the sun to entertain me. I never did get my tan that summer, but I did learn that the sea and the wind are sacred gifts from God not least for a Mummy and Baby. To this day, Samara is pacified by the ocean, mesmorized by the waves and today, once more, lulled to blissful sleep by the water hitting rocks under an endless sky.