Our wee family
heads off to Clonmany
in Inis Eoghain
for a special celebration –
Aoife is turning 25.

During a relaxed breakfast
Aoife opens cards and presents
while we all wish her
a happy birthday.
Then we all hop in the car
and make a bee-line
for Malin Head.

It’s a sunny, summer’s day
and the beauty at Malin Head
is truly breath-taking!

On arrival
we find that the bright sun
and cloudless, blue sky
have tamed the mighty Atlantic ocean
and today
it laps gently
against Malin’s rugged headlands.

As we sit on rocks
savouring the view
Aoife calls out,
“Look – dolphins!”
And there,
coming round the headland,
is a school of dolphins!
We watch for ages,
fascinated,
as these dolphins progress,
in twos and threes,
around the coast –
a continuous sequence
of leaps and dives
that’s almost hypnotic
to watch.

Eventually
the dolphins are out of sight.

Wow!

Lord,
thank you
for this graceful procession of dolphins
that swam by specially
on Aoife’s birthday,
thrilling our wee family,
filling us all with wonder
and making Aoife’s 25th birthday
feel like a joyful, family celebration!

© Claire Murray, Summer 2020