Last Child in the Woods

I often find myself parked on the side of the road 

in a moment of decision.

Go clean the house

OR

Magic...

Wonder...

Golden moments with my boy.

It isn't always easy, 

choosing to be the last child in the woods,

but today it was...perfect.

It's always a major expedition

going down to the river valley floor 

with a 3 year old.

You can't have a timeline.

They do not keep record of the fact that

the farther they go 

the farther they will have to return, 

uphill.

Just the sidewalk to the field is a 10 minute excursion,

then the field to the forest edge will be another 20

because there are bottle caps to collect,

then the forest edge itself will be half an hour 

of helicoptering maple seeds and picking berries.

Interject another 10 minutes because a tractor 

is moving dirt around 

(and it simply must be supervised 

by three year old eyes)

and at last you can begin the descent.

A little object lesson arises on the hill:

There is a lovely yellow pencil hiding in the leaves.

Which quickly becomes a pencil in the hand -

 - in the hand of the boy running down the root-clad hill.

"Oh, I better take that...

if you trip and fall you will poke your eye out!"

or

"Davis, look at all these amazing roots you are going to need two hands to grab onto!"

I tried both :) 

Amazingly, his grip tightened 

with the first phrase

and loosened when his gaze 

was directed elsewhere.

The right phrase will guide the gaze.

As I said, a little object lesson,

 for me!

And so, do I say to myself,

"Naggedy nag, what's that thing 

you are holding on to so tightly?"

Or 

do I just lift my gaze?

Deep breathe, loosen the fingers, 

turn off the car,

and go to the wood.....

to the wide open sun drizzled lonely old wood.

Where I,

and my scallywag son

can play 

as one child...