Dad's Day

For Father’s Day, we spent the day in the mountains with the boys and my parents. It was a much-needed excursion away from home, out in the fresh air, up in the mountains- my absolute favorite place. In fact, I like it up there so much that even some adventure and stress couldn't dampen my day.... Picture in your head an idyllic scene of children laughing, throwing rocks and sticks in the river. Then, we noticed a place we could wade aways out, which then only gave us a view of an elusive scene across the river. We started to scope out a way to cross the swelling, ice-cold river (because we just can't be satisfied with staying on one side only). AW, though, allowed fear in and refused to even get his toes wet. But that doesn't deter us- nope, not one bit. We found a tolerable looking spot to cross and Hubby did a little recon for us. It was passable, as long as he carried the kids. So, he grabbed HL and trekked to the other side. Meanwhile, AW hemmed and hawed, switched between going with us and then refusing to do so. After a short wait (Hubby's feet were so cold they were numb so he took a break between each kid), AW decided to go with us. I carried him a short way out and met Hubby in the river, where he took him from my arms. And thank goodness he did, too- the current was rather strong and grabbed the sole of my sandal, pulling my foot out from under me every time I took a step. On the opposite side, we began to explore and were not disappointed in the least. We found serene ponds, tiny streams, waterfalls; it was all very nice. That is, until HL became determined to climb the "mountain" (a steep hill of about 30 feet). He and I started climbing up, but were soon stalled by AW's wails of fear from the base. Hubby tried to console him, to no avail. So I headed back down and Hubby climbed the mountain with big brother- without us. We agreed that AW and I would try to find a better place to cross the river while the other two were exploring. So there I was; alone, with a screaming 4 year old in my arms who was not only afraid (more like terrified) of the water, but also afraid of touching anything prickly (eg. the wild raspberry bushes). I found an area where the river had overcome its banks and was very wide. Knowing that the more narrow, the stronger the current, I figured that should be promising and chose a reedy, waterlogged, still pond-like area to begin my river travels. The water was much deeper than I expected; and stagnant- making it downright gross (in case you don't know, I am a bacteria- and parasite-phobe; they truly freak me out!). Just to make this worse, I cut my leg on a submerged branch as I was stepping into the STAGNANT, BACTERIA-FILLED WATER. Great. Eventually, though, I did make it through the nasty reeds. In my desire to leave the grossness, I took the next two steps a bit too quickly and found that my feet had sunk up to my ankles in what the boys would term "sinking sand". Splendid. AW asked why I stopped and I (oh-so-stupidly) told him that I was stuck in the mud. I thought he was terrified before- boy, was I ever wrong. This made him utterly hysterical, wailing something about "sinking sand" being "VERY dangerous". Now, picture this scene: me, blood running down my leg, stuck in germ-laden mud up to my ankles, holding a screaming boy, clutching me tightly, holding his legs up so as not to touch anything prickly. At that point, I just start laughing- I mean, what else is a person to do? With much effort, I was finally able to extract my shoes and back slowly out through the reeds. And then I was right back where I started- except that my son was even more upset than before. He was now crying that he wanted to go back to GMa and Papa- back across the river. With no better plan, I headed back to where we crossed the first time, and from that direction, I could see that there was a BRIDGE, not more than 30 FEET AWAY. A bridge. Within sight; within walking distance. Just in case you don't get the irony of this, I will repeat it: there was a BRIDGE, not 30 feet away from where we risked our lives to get to the other side. With AW safely in the arms of his grandparents, I headed back to where Hubby scaled the hill so as to catch him and let him know about the hidden bridge. If you know me, you know that not only am I a bacteria-phobe, but also a bit of a worrier. And I realized that since no one was answering my calls or whistles, I knew that no one would hear my screams when I was suddenly and viciously attacked by a mountain lion. That is, of course, if my bacteria-laden leg didn't kill me first. (Okay, so I’m exaggerating a bit….) Despite my exaggeration, I was starting to get quite worried and irritated that Hubby wasn’t answering. Just then, I came across the most gorgeous flowering vine climbing up a dead tree trunk. Now, nothing calms me like the beauty of Mother Nature- especially when found in such a contrasting background. I whip out my camera and am instantly soothed. All is well again. Not long after that, I found my missing family members- who had also found the bridge and were now searching for me. They convinced me to climb the hill and I was awarded with a grassy slope, filled with tiny daisies, allowing a heart-stopping view. Yes, all really was (and is) well.....