...Love and Childlike Wonder...

When I was younger, and the dog days of Summer would settle in on our home, my family would travel to the highest, steepest, most spectacular sand dune in our region.

We would all pile into the car: dogs, kids, parents and picnics. The car ride would be tense, the kids bickering, the dogs trying their best to climb as far out of the window as possible... then there was the race to get to the dune.

And finally, breathless and panting, we would reach the very top, where the wind comes in cold from the sea and the air is still fresh as a daisy.

Then taking a leap, a great bound into the sky, we would begin to JUMP!

Memories from childhood flashed through my mind when I stood on the top of the Dune du Pilat. The view was incredible... a field of emerald green lay below my feet, tiny pine trees as far as the eye could see. On the other side: an endless stretch of blue, with wide swathes of white foam - made of the sand that gets swept up by the currents.

My heart was beating somewhere near my mouth. I had just outrun Oliver, and I knew I had a few more seconds of stillness before he would catch up... in-breath... exhale... I could see the crisp white peaks of waves far below, and the rustle of dune grass on the edge of my vision. Then there was a cry from behind me, and I was caught up in a whirlwind of hugs, laughter and wild whoops! Oliver held me for a few moments before letting go, to point out the tiny tracks of a bird, leading over the edge of the dune...

We followed those tracks, slowly at first, then catching up speed, before finally leaping with one wild bound into thin air!

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