"And into the forest I go to lose my mind and find my soul." - John Muir
A general overcast mood seems to be hanging over our house. It happens every year around this time, but it seems exponentially worse with COVID showing no signs of relenting. I remind myself that these feelings are only temporary while I simultaneously try to motivate the troops. It has been a bit difficult in our house. I know it has been in your house, too.
So, I pull out the ace in my back pocket and tell the girls we are going for a hike. (To them my ace seems like a joker, but I have kids that are kind enough to humor me.) There are minimal groans, and I think we are all just happy to get out of the house. To be doing something other than the day in and day out here. Over and over. It feels like Groundhog Day.
The fact that it has snowed has made the hike all the more worthwhile. It is our first snow of the year and is only about two inches, but it will work for us. Beggars cannot be choosers, or so the saying goes. We head to a state park about 30 minutes from here. While on our hike it begins to snow some more. The snows feels good on my face. And the quiet of the winter woods soothes me. The girls enjoy themselves until tiredness sets in. Then they just want to go home. We get a bit lost on our trail and add time that they don't anticipate. The grumbling crescendos. My legs begin to protest a bit too.
Despite the girls unhappiness and my legs aching I cannot help but feel thankful that there is a place that can lend me some sense of hope that everything will be all right again.
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| Shaking trees so the snow will fall on them. |
