Discover-y
I grew up next to a little slice of kid-heaven. We called it “the hollow”. It’s a ravine right behind my parents house that is full of dense trees, rocks to climb, fallen trees as bridges over streams, and a pond to swim in.
I am forever telling The Fish about my adventures in The Hollow. On Sunday, we were visiting my parent’s house, and I decided to take him there to show him the place that holds so many of my favorite childhood memories.
When we got about halfway to the pond, we discovered that there was a fence twice as tall as I am blocking our way. I hesitated. “Fish, I don’ t know if we can get through here. I think we might have to turn back.” His face dropped.
Then he suggested we both squeeze through a small space underneath the fence. I explained about private property, and trespassing and such things.
Then he said, “Why are grown-ups not as…um…you know…discover-y…as kids are?”
You know what I said?
“Let’s do this.”
We found a way around the fence. It was thorny, and treacherous. And, I was bleeding by the end of it, but I will not sit back and let some punk 7 year old tell me I’m not discover-y anymore.
I’m Mrs. Discover. Evidence below…
magpie nest.
thorns, bark, duck tracks, cracked earth, patterns in nature, and tree shoots.
Discoveries abound. Hazah!
This next picture (look close!) is an old car that has become part of this river bed and has been there since I was a kid. We used to make up freaky stories about there being skeletons of dead bank robbers in it. These are the stories The Fish loves to hear. He eats it up.
This next one is a picture of an area that I used to think was magic. The trees were thick enough to get lost in and the ground was mushy. It felt like walking on a bed of thick marshmallows. I seriously used to think that fairies lived there. It was so quiet and even the air smelled different. It’s fun to tell these things to Fish because he is completely absorbed in what I’m telling him. I can see the wheels turning in his mind.
This log that he’s climbing on here is nearly covered with water during summer.
My friend and I used the high part as a diving board. Every day in the summer we’d go swimming in that pond. Seeing it in person again flooded my memory. I came home and wrote down as many of them as I could recall. So fun.
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The best part of the whole adventure though, was spending this time alone with The Fish. As I shared with him my stories, it was like he was discovering that I am an actual person. Not just a mom.
As we walked, we gave names to all the obstacles we conquered. (death trap, devil’s snare, the biggie, and pictured below is slip-slide-ride)
We balanced on logs above streams…
Chucked rocks in the pond…
Had a splash-making contest…
And raced home…
14 comments
What fun! I bet he will remember that afternoon with you FOREVER.
Ditto on Hannah’s comment. I know he will!
I love the makings of sweet memories and the rememberings of them as well. Way to go Discovery Mom. You just proved to your son that you can be both a Mom and discovery.
Where did you grow up?! That is a beautiful area. You motivate me to be a more adventurous mom. Thank you.
What a fabulous place to grow up! I love it! You are SO discovery!
Very very cool afternoon. I want to move next to your parents.
What beautiful pics.
What a wonderful afternoon for Fish and you! So how do we create or allow our children to have the same adventures we had as children? I have similar memories of my childhood and discovering the land around my parents home. But I look at my own children and the suburb we live in and wonder what will they create and discover?
That whole post reminded me of Bridge to Tarabithia. What a cool place to have as a kid. Now THAT’s why I want to get out of the city!
Your blog and photos are so beautiful and the day you had with Fish sounds wonderful, spring is here at last.
Wow..such wisdom from that little guy. I’m glad you went in and shared that part of your life with him. You were a very lucky little girl. When I was about 8, we moved to a new subdivision, our street dead ended at an open canal with wonderful wild areas around it. We loved it, we hung a robe swing to get over the big canal, explored nature trails, one we called ’snake trail’. I don’t know why, I never saw a snake there. We also had a swimming hole,(in winter an ice skating rink,) it was a little pond on someone’s property by the canal, but we were never driven out. We loved it, and then in about 7 or 8 years they covered it over and developed the area into houses. I wish all kids had those great opportunities.
The hollow IS magic. You are the coolest mom ever. I love “Let’s do this.” It is so Kelly! You’re a cool mom AND a cooler person. Thanks for the inspiration to adventure!
These are the kinds of things I love to do with my kids! I bet Fish loved the whole adventure with you. Maybe someday when he’s a teenager and has forgotten how cool you are, he’ll think of this day and remember… maybe.
Jenny
[...] Yesterday I let The Fish and T ride their bikes to the school playground. Alone. You may be wondering why this is an occasion worth mentioning. What you don’t know is that I am a worrier. I’m getting better with each child, but everything The Fish does is brand-spankin’ new and most of it stresses me out. I contsantly struggle with that fine line between keeping my kids safe and hovering too much. . I remember when I was a kid, we used to have a lemonade stand. As soon as we sold out of lemonade, we’d take the money we earned and walk to Johnny’s Dairy because they had an extensive candy selection. I’ve been back there since becoming a parent, and I can’t even imagine letting my kids walk that far away and on those roads. And remember the adventure I took Fish on recently to share my childhood stomping grounds with him? I think that I would be too scared to let him swim down there unsupervised. Granted, I was 9 when I started going there, but still…scary. Kelly D. tells stories of walking to a movie theater with just his two siblings and staying in the theater all day long watching the same movie over and over again. Or, that he used to walk to the local swimming pool from his grandma’s house. He’s shown me that house many times and I just don’t think I could let my boys walk that far by themselves! I’m not saying our parents were irresponsible at all. But, it seems like a different world now. Doesn’t it? Parents are more uptight, and worry more. Why is that? I remember playing outside all day long in the summer. I would roam all over the neighborhood without checking in with my mom. I only had to be home when the street lights came on. . So, yesterday…they rode their bikes to a playground all by themselves. I couldn’t see them or hear them, or make sure they were safe. And I only spied on them twice. I’m making progress. [...]
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