hiking

The sun came up and I finally arose after lying there a while not wanting to make the effort that arising takes. Shortly our task for the morning came to be – this was one of baby-sitting. YD was to be a chaperone for GM3’s kindergarten class field trip and we were to take care of the two younger boys. Unfortunately I had not finished my breakfast and my meal proceedings were then interrupted many times before completion – I finally finished when the Spice attracted their attention elsewhere.

Their most urgent desire was to “go outside” – needless to say this did not coincide with my urgent desire to hold down the recliner. Although I was still moving a bit slow, we went outside – I even thought I could get a chore or two done at the same time. What I thought I could do was to get a hand spade and dig out some weeds and grass that had invaded the blueberry bed by the driveway. I also got them a hand spade each and this seemed to make them very happy.

As I started digging up some sprigs of grass, I realized this was not going to work because both of them were just digging holes in the yard and getting bored while doing so. I abandoned the chore as a lost cause and changed to taking them on a hike. The vacant lots next-door end at a tall bank overlooking the highway so we walked down there to view the traffic. This adventure seemed to make them happy and we viewed, from different points of view, the cars and trucks that rushed by.

Later we hiked the distance back to the house while I pointed out and commented on various natural items along the way, trees, rocks, etc. We stopped at the aging swing set that is slowly and quietly rusting in the back yard and they rode, swung and slid for a while. They bounced on the trampoline for a bit and it was back to the swing again. I could tell that they wanted a greater adventure so we hiked down to the pond and walked out on ‘stump peninsula’ and did a bit of exploring thereupon.

Where the original island joins the land is a muddy spot that had to be navigated carefully. We all got through the mud without actually falling into it – I was a bit surprised but glad of that. Many bird tracks and things that were once under water were viewed to their delight. This bit of sandy land and the water fascinated them and GM4 wanted to go home and get his bathing suit to come back and go swimming in the pond – I changed the subject and let that idea die quietly.

We walked back to the house and they wanted to go in and tell the Spice all about their adventure and I was in favor of that because it was not exactly cool outside. In a short while the little one wanted to go to my computer and view the video clips I have saved for their viewing pleasure. A new one that someone sent me is “Tico Tico” – it is of a small girl about 4 or 5 years old playing an electronic organ – and doing an outstanding job of it. At one point in her piece, she is playing with one hand and the other arm is up in the air with her hand rotating in time with the music.

A short while later I heard the youngest one banging away on our piano. I glanced in at him and he was banging away with one hand and the other arm was straight up and the hand was rotating just like he had seen the little girl do – absolutely hilarious. Some of our baby-sitting adventures are more delightful than others but all are a joy to me. I just consider these chores as blessings given to me by God and am grateful for them. ec