I took this picture of my three children and two nieces and not forgetting our dog Susie in the lovely warm days of last summer. We were on staycation in our home near Tramore, Co Waterford.
Being a self-employed tiler with little or no work meant that a foreign holiday – or any sort of holiday really – was out of reach.
In the January before the photo was taken, I had only a half day’s work, which shows you what we were dealing with. Paying bills and putting food on the table becomes the priority.
As you can see from the photograph, our kids are oblivious to our plight, which is how we like it. I’m a firm believer that things will get better, and this was proven correct when I got a job earlier this year as a sales rep. No more tiling for me. At least it will give my knees a break.
But back to the photo. It was taken at the front of our house. This was the chill-out zone, where they went to have a bite to eat. My wife, Veronica, would bring out some drinks and sandwiches, and maybe some ice cream if they were good.
We’ve never been abroad as a family. Hopefully some day that might change, but even if it doesn’t, we have each other and our three children, Laura, Mark and Stephen.
We are also lucky to live a 15-minute walk from Tramore’s lovely beach. Tramore was our family holiday when I was a child; we only lived five miles away. We thought this was where everyone went. Sure what more could you want? Three miles of a beach and as much candy floss as you could stomach. I still remember those days as if it was yesterday. I wouldn’t swap one thing. Brilliant childhood memories. I hope that in 30-odd years’ time, my own children will have such fond memories. They look happy, don’t they?
The main things we miss about going away to a hotel is the leisure centre and getting food served to us.
Over the years we have stayed in some lovely hotels. Our favourite was the Heritage Hotel in Portlaoise. The way they looked after us was unreal. When we went up to the room for the first time, they had left some Lily O’Brien’s sweets for the kids. It was a lovely touch and unexpected. Just goes to show how great Irish hotels can be.
This summer we are planning a similar staycation, weather permitting.
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