Simple Pleasures

You know those days when everything feels right? The kind of day when you know, just know, that THIS is what life is supposed to be like. The kind of day that takes your breath away because it is perfectly suited to you and everything that you strive to be and have in this life. I had one of those days today, and the memories created out of it will be ones I will remember for a lifetime.

I took the kids to Hampton Hills Metro Parks today. (Thankfully, it is run by the Summit County MetroParks otherwise it would have been closed due to the government shutdown.) We began our hike with Lily by running up a steep hill laughing all of the way, each one of us trying our hardest not to be the last one to the top. Then we raced down the other side of the hill trying to be the first down. I haven't run like that in years. I ran and felt like a kid. I remembered (if only very briefly) why kids run, and why they love it. It was completely freeing. Running as an adult and as a kid are two different things completely, and although I have run in recent years as an adult I have long forgotten the pleasure of running with a child's mentality. After we all tired ourselves out completely we continued our 3.2 mile journey enjoying each others company. Each one of the kids would take turns walking with me while everyone else regained their energy and sped ahead taking in the sights and sounds of an autumn wood. About 1/4 of the way through our journey the kids decided to play hide and seek in teams of two. Each team would run ahead and hide in the woods along the trail while the other kids would try and find them. Once they were found (or sometimes not found. There were several times when the seeking team and I would walk right past the hiding team because they were hidden so well.) the seeking team would run ahead and try to out do the previous team with their current hiding spot. Lily, the dog, would run back and forth between both groups of kids so happy to be among them. The sound of laughter filled the woods the entire time. I quietly soaked up the palpable joy that surrounded us and took in the sights that only nature could provide.  I feel more at home and more at peace in nature than I do anywhere else on this whole world. I have had more 'aha' moments in nature than anywhere else, and it is a place that I go to more than anywhere else to seek out the answers I am looking for.

So, it was completely appropriate and fitting that I should be surrounded by the echoes of my children's laughter as they bounced off of the autumn trees with their beginning brilliant fall colors, and for me to feel a deep sense of the wonder of life. The gift of those couple of hours in the woods with them this morning and early afternoon were better than any lesson they could have learned in a traditional classroom setting. The moments that I celebrated today with the kids - the fun, the laughter, the beauty, the carefree moments of today - THOSE are the things that matter. As we were heading home to work on our lessons for the day the kids asked if we could come to the woods everyday because they all had so much fun together. Those words were music to my nature loving ears. I promised them that although it was something that we would not be able to do every day certainly an effort could be made to do it much more frequently than we have been.

We created memories that will last us a lifetime. I know that all of the kids and myself will remember today with its curiosity , creativity, and conversation for a long, long time. We were able to accomplish this wonderful day with only the simplest of things: the great outdoors and ourselves. We did it without fancy toys, or video games, or the television, or the computer. We did it without going to a fancy amusement park or sporting event. We did it in the simplest of places - the beauty of nature. It didn't cost us anything, but our time. It was the perfect day. This is why I have four kids. This is why I would love to have more. My family is what matters most to me in this world. It is what I live for and what I would die for - no questions asked. This life isn't about big houses, fancy cars, or expensive vacations. It is about being together, as a family, creating memories that will last a lifetime. It is about the simple things - after all, they are the only things that truly matter.