A Boy, His Father, And A Walk In The Woods

The first morning we were at the cabin, Nathaniel got up early.  I decided to let Melissa have a much needed break and get up with him.  Due to my job, I work evenings and don't get home until late.  As such, I sleep in late and miss seeing him in the morning before school.  Therefore, we don't always spend a lot of time together.  I wanted this vacation to be different.  I remember camping with my parents growing up and how much fun it was.  I wanted him to experience that and have those memories later in life like I do.  After we got up, I asked Nathaniel if he wanted to go on a nature walk and he jumped at the chance.  We got dressed and headed out the door.  We, after all, had to explore our new home.  There was so much for a boy to see and learn about.  The woods held such mystery and promise of adventure.

We headed out the back door, down the steps and into the woods surrounding the cabin.  Nathaniel was excited.  He was loving it.  We decided to walk down the hill and into a field to see what we could see.  It was truly beautiful.  Along the way we stopped to look at flowers, trees, bushes, grasshoppers, the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background and other assorted stuff.  Nathaniel led the way as we explored this new area.  At times we even pretended like we were hikers hiking up and down a tough trail.  A child's imagination is a wonderful and marvelous thing.  In all we spent about an hour walking around, photographing things, exploring and having a great time in general.  Truth be told, that hour will last me a lifetime.  The expressions on his face and the happiness in his voice was well worth it and something I will cherish forever.  I hope he will as well.  A boy needs his father just as a father needs his boy.  Time well spent indeed!