Sometimes you just have to get out into nature. It just beckons and calls. I’m not sure why, but sometimes I get an irresistible urge to just get out and if I heed the calling, I always find the most interesting rewards.
I found myself on a sunny hot August weekend with just such an urge. Will was going off to a seminar (that incidentally changed his life) and I was home left with the feeling that if you go (to nature) you will find what you are searching for. So what did I do, I packed up the kids and the car and off we went. I didn’t have reservations, I had no idea where to go, and I knew I didn’t want to be next to some yahoos who were drinking and partying all night. However, I knew I would somehow discover the right spot. What I didn’t know when we started was that this weekend would be life changing for all of us.
I started by traveling south, and stopped by every place I saw that I thought had water and we could possibly camp at. What was I thinking, I would find a place by a lake at 4pm on Friday of Labor Day weekend! Seriously. As I stopped at yet another county site, I consulted Google Maps and somehow was drawn to a small shore in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t know if it had a campground, I didn’t even know if there was a road to it, but somehow I knew that was where we were going. After a bit of research, I did discover there was a 4-wheel drive road to the place and it did have a campground. I was set. We arrived at the campground almost an hour later and found a spot right next to the water, next to some really nice people, and no oversized trucks blaring music and drinking beer! This was unbelievable.
Along with my urge to just get away, I had the urge to just ‘let go’. I thought about all the summers I had spent unattended next to a pond near our house and I wanted the kids to feel the same sense of abandon. So as Noah (in a life jacket) and Isabel (no life jacket, but with a floaty), swam to the middle of this lake, I just breathed. I thought to myself, what is the worst that could happen. They could freak out in the middle of the lake as I watched from the shore and I would have to swim out. Right? Luckily as I stood on the shore, I met another parent whose kids were out doing just the same thing and he told me the lake wasn’t as deep as I thought and I gave thanks that I was able to just let go.
During our weekend, Noah blew up the raft, patched it himself, and played rafting guide to the half dozen kids who wanted to go into the lake. He made sure everyone was safe and together. I watched quietly from the shore. Isabel during the weekend was just as independent and played with new friends in the water, hung in their hammock, or just walked in nature.
As I sat on my lawn chair listening to the kids jeers, I felt at peace that letting go is ok. Kids know their limits. Kids are wholesome and good and want to help one another. And giving kids the time and distance to be kids and act responsibly allows you to just let go and allows them to learn.
Aside: I met this couple at the lake who had kids about Noah and Isabel’s age and they had just rented their house and were traveling. They didn’t know how long and they didn’t know how they were going to educate the kids. They were just going to be and allow themselves to find their way on the journey without worrying about planning. This idea set in motion our trip and our mentality that had been brewing inside for years. I believe this trip was life telling me that it’s ok just to be.