When you hang out at the beach and in caravan parks you get to see a lot of families together. And when the routine is like we are currently living, with each other all the time, the caravan and tent not offering a lot of personal space; you realise that if the relationships aren't working it is pretty hard to find any deep joy or peace in the activities that ccompany these places.
In the glimpses of the news in recent days I've been observing the (Tiger) Woods family falling apart and can only imagine the pain ... perhaps exagerated by the public scrutiny. But the pain of broken relationships happens all the time to ordinary people.
Part of our yurting mantra is 'thankfulness'. I am overwhelmingly thankful for the beautiful people in our family, and love the enjoyment we derive from each other. Maria and I often talk about how lucky we are and sometimes wonder the extent to which we create our own 'luck'. Either way, every day is a gift. It is easy to say that as I sit beside the pool watching the girls play, but I know that my enjoyment of today is rooted in the habits of life and work in Brunswick.
At the end of the day, whatever our circumstances in life, if our close relationships are not in good shape then nothing much seems to help ... loving and being loved - fully gnarly (that was for Rachel - "Dad, just because you surf doesn't mean you are cool". Yes I am 'cause I use cool words like "gnarly")