The Past is Prologue

The mornings in the forest were always colder than the nights, it seemed to me, even in the spring.  Packing up the tent and returning the sleeping bags to their stuff sacks made my fingers hurt.  We would bring oat meal, coffee, and tea for breakfast to break the cold, but we never actually made them.

Today, I missed that cold, that smell, those forests, and those mountains.  It has been too long since we have gone backpacking or camping.

Chris and I shared a lot of adventures in the mountains before having kids.  It was our escape, one we really needed, especially during grad school when we were so stressed all the time.

I'm not trying to say that our "life" ended with having kids or that even hiking and camping became part of the past.  Heck, we took Eliot camping when he was three months old and he was an angel.  We slowed down with camping because we found ourselves too busy--and that is something I regret--but we still took advantage of the trails even with Eliot. 

We've kept busy these past few days with Eliot and Jack.  We've gotten out of the house every day to do something eventful.

We went to the petting zoo at the Hunt Club Farm where Eliot fed baby goats and rode a horse.

Then we went to the bay in the morning to see two sea turtles released.  In the evening, I took Eliot out for a mom and Eliot adventure to get free slurpees.

This evening, we went to the aquarium.

Right now, we're not in a season that is very good for camping.  I'm looking forward to days when both boys are older and we can have fun doing "bigger boy" adventures, like hiking and camping.  At the same time, I am holding close to this time when Jack is fresh to the world and Eliot is a cheery-eyed toddler who thinks everything he sees shimmers.

Tonight after I made a well-rounded dinner of mac'n'cheese and raspberries, Chris read poetry to us.  Raymond Carver and Walt Whitman.  Jack nursed sleepily while Eliot tried his best to repeat the lines that Chris read aloud.  Our days go by quickly in a blur.  We try to hang on by getting out.  We might not be climbing mountaintops, but the times I cherish most are those spent quietly with my family.  These two boys of ours are far more amazing adventures than any hiking trip--and one day I'll take them on the trails and watch their eyes grow wide as they look over the edge.