This used to be bucket and spade land,

'Sandcastles R Us'.

But not now.

It was deckchairs and the windbreaker

- hammer it in

- pile up the sand along the bottom

'where's the sunblock mum?'

But time moves on.

No flasks and sandwiches,

Crisps and chocolate,

Fizzy drinks or juice,

Not now.

No flapping flags,

plastic trucks, or

row of cars in the sand.

That's gone.

We've even gone past

the throwing stones at the upright spade stage.

They may still sit and read

or text their friends - of course!

But now their minds are different, and often

they are going off

on their own.

Yes, they are often somewhere else.

We'll still laugh

and joke

and enjoy ourselves.

And enjoy the memories.

Those memories that can be

looked back on,

and return us to those earlier times.

They are there, locked away.

Like the the buckets and spades

saved, perhaps

for the grandchildren.