"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both." --"The Road Not Taken" Robert Frost 1920
There is no delicate way to say this: Heather is not an outdoors person. But, she has told me, for the sake of her kids she would endure many hardships; pain of death, torture, dismemberment, and, worst of all, hiking. So we set out. Even before we left, we could here the thunderstorm coming. I had checked the radar before we left and assured Heather that is was nothing more than just a little rain. As we neared the place where we would begin our journey, I could see Heather nervously watching the sign for any sign of light in the sky. When we got out of the van a mere 7.5 miles from our house thunder clashes grew louder and louder. Still no lightning, though. As I saw Heather's apprehension, I asked her if she wanted to just call it off, even though I was sure we were in no danger. She was determined for the adventure to continue, for the sake of her kids. So, I strapped Hannah to my back and Heather strapped Sam onto her front and we continued. For anyone reading this wanting to see this story end in disaster, you can stop reading now. We didn't get caught in a storm or lost in the woods. We simply walked along a well defined path until we came to a point where we could see Cedar Creek; specifically a place where there was a nice waterfall and shallow pool where Hannah might swim. Getting down to the water was a bit of an adventure as it was a pretty steep hill, but we made it down safely with the kids. Heather endured it like any mom should, but like few moms would. She carefully and gracefully navigated the steep grade; not thinking about how much she might dislike hiking, but how great it was that we were doing something like this as a family. Getting into the pool of water was more difficult than I anticipated. And the water was over waste deep and freezing! I stripped Hannah down completely and then climbed down into the water. The fish constantly nibbled my toes and feet with no apparent fear of humans at all. I pulled Hannah in for about two minutes when she decided it was too cold to swim and asked to get out. She ran around on the river rocks splashing in the shallower part of the pool for about half and hour. Heather sat with her feet in the water as she fed Sam with the rushing waterfall as a backdrop. No other people around but the four of us. It was scenes like this that I dreamed of when we started our family. All of our hearts long for family; and I praise God that He has granted me such a privilege. We all redressed ourselves to the degree from which we had disrobed. I attached Hannah to Heather's back and I carried Sam in his pouch as we left. Getting up the hill proved much easier than coming down, though it took more physical effort. From a physical standpoint, I don't think I've ever been prouder of Heather. She made the hike back to the van with no problem. I briefly went down another fork in the path before catching up with Heather and Hannah, but I decided that was an adventure best left for another day. All agreed that it was fun and a good way to spend the afternoon. Could it be that Heather is becoming a mountain woman?
There is no delicate way to say this: Heather is not an outdoors person. But, she has told me, for the sake of her kids she would endure many hardships; pain of death, torture, dismemberment, and, worst of all, hiking. So we set out. Even before we left, we could here the thunderstorm coming. I had checked the radar before we left and assured Heather that is was nothing more than just a little rain. As we neared the place where we would begin our journey, I could see Heather nervously watching the sign for any sign of light in the sky. When we got out of the van a mere 7.5 miles from our house thunder clashes grew louder and louder. Still no lightning, though. As I saw Heather's apprehension, I asked her if she wanted to just call it off, even though I was sure we were in no danger. She was determined for the adventure to continue, for the sake of her kids. So, I strapped Hannah to my back and Heather strapped Sam onto her front and we continued. For anyone reading this wanting to see this story end in disaster, you can stop reading now. We didn't get caught in a storm or lost in the woods. We simply walked along a well defined path until we came to a point where we could see Cedar Creek; specifically a place where there was a nice waterfall and shallow pool where Hannah might swim. Getting down to the water was a bit of an adventure as it was a pretty steep hill, but we made it down safely with the kids. Heather endured it like any mom should, but like few moms would. She carefully and gracefully navigated the steep grade; not thinking about how much she might dislike hiking, but how great it was that we were doing something like this as a family. Getting into the pool of water was more difficult than I anticipated. And the water was over waste deep and freezing! I stripped Hannah down completely and then climbed down into the water. The fish constantly nibbled my toes and feet with no apparent fear of humans at all. I pulled Hannah in for about two minutes when she decided it was too cold to swim and asked to get out. She ran around on the river rocks splashing in the shallower part of the pool for about half and hour. Heather sat with her feet in the water as she fed Sam with the rushing waterfall as a backdrop. No other people around but the four of us. It was scenes like this that I dreamed of when we started our family. All of our hearts long for family; and I praise God that He has granted me such a privilege. We all redressed ourselves to the degree from which we had disrobed. I attached Hannah to Heather's back and I carried Sam in his pouch as we left. Getting up the hill proved much easier than coming down, though it took more physical effort. From a physical standpoint, I don't think I've ever been prouder of Heather. She made the hike back to the van with no problem. I briefly went down another fork in the path before catching up with Heather and Hannah, but I decided that was an adventure best left for another day. All agreed that it was fun and a good way to spend the afternoon. Could it be that Heather is becoming a mountain woman?
