Take A Hike
You can learn a lot about your family and yourself when you head out on a hike of a new place. You also learn a lot about the sense of humor of the guy who was in charge of posting the trails, but that is another story. My family and I set out to hike up the Cave Hill not too long ago. It starts out quite civilized with a formal garden and even a castle, but once you leave the fabled turrets behind you soon find yourself deep in a forest where every trail goes straight uphill.
For reasons I still don’t fully understand, I was elected to be the family field guide. This is all kinds of crazy because I am well known in my family as having the unique ability of being able to get lost in a paper bag. For years I would tell my kids that I wanted to show them a particular tree or house or even bird all so I could cover up that I was making yet another U-turn. My sense of direction is somewhat legendary in my family and when I head out the door everyone asks if my GPS is working. (It’s kind of sweet really.)
Anyway, because I had been on the trail as a child, (literally holding my mom’s hand and with a view of nothing but her handbag, (Yes, my mom trekked with her purse,) I was nonetheless appointed guide. So with a confidence I didn’t know I could fake and with my little boy grinning ear-to-ear, we set off. There are three trails and we chose the one that would lead us on a fairly easy walk and bring us within easy distance of the zoo. Perfect right? Sadly, not so much.
It wasn’t long before we came to a fork in the road and of course, no markings for the lovely blue trail we hoped to follow. Imagine Lewis and Clark, Laurel and Hardy, Magellan and the Mad Hatter and you have a frighteningly good idea of the looks on our faces as we tried to figure out which way to go. The forest around us was primordial and dense and a fine mist began to close in as we climbed.
I’m not sure what the difference is between a hill and a mountain, but I can tell you that what looks like a hill when you are standing at the foot of it full of hot tea and enthusiasm is most definitely a mountain when you are half way up and lost and wishing you had cell service.
It was about that point when I learned something new about my family. There was no shortage of grumbling and frustrated remarks and special wishes of gratitude to the genius that failed to mark the trails; but there was also no shortage of giggles, hands helping hands and words of encouragement even for me, (since by now it was clear that reputation for always getting lost would remain in tact.)
It easily could have went the other way, there might have been arguing or blaming or tears, but there was none of the above. There was laughter, a great story and two days of shoes on the radiator to try and dry them out.
So give it a try, hiking may not always be exactly like you expect it to be, (especially if you let a directionally challenged person be your guide) but it will be good for you, body and soul. Activities like hiking, boating and really anytime your family gets a chance to work together are a great way to build your family team and learn about who your kids are growing up to be. Even if you find yourself totally lost, you might just discover that your family is still heading in exactly the right direction.
Keep me posted.
Marilynn
Categories: General
