Monday, April 29, 2013

Into the Woods


His hand in mine,
we step into the woods.
It is quiet.
The distant sound of a woodpecker
breaks the silence.

I take a deep breath.
We walk.
He stops,
looks down.
A track captures his gaze.
He examines it,
and calls me to join him.
I do.
We are swept up in the challenge,
of finding out who it
belongs to.
We follow the tracks,
we search,
we question,
we enjoy the adventure.


He stops,
again.
He looks up,
a bird call has grabbed his attention.
He searches for it.
He asks if I hear it.
Yes.
What bird is it, he asks.
I ask a few questions,
guiding him to
the answer...
cardinal.

He smiles,
a full, happy
smile.
My heart is
full.
Time stands still.
He reaches for my hand.
We walk,
quietly at first,
then he breaks the silence with a
squeal,
as he drops my hand
and runs after a butterfly.


There is joy,
pure joy,
in his movement,
his laughter.
I soak it in.
I slow the moment down,
capturing it in my mind.
I am here,
present,
with him.

He runs back,
takes my hand,
guiding me along the trail.
There are no words exchanged,
just a smile.
We walk,
together,
slowly,
his hand in mine.

31 comments:

  1. Beautiful! That is my life too!

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  2. This is so beautiful, Kim! The part where Reece squeals made me laugh out loud with joy.

    Such beautiful, priceless moments. Thank you for sharing.

    Enjoy your week.

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    1. Thank you Renee, he loved chasing that butterfly, first one of the season. All he has been talking about since then is the one we raised last year and how he can't wait to hold one again. Soon it will be time to start looking for eggs again.

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  3. Such an amazing adventure they lead us on isn't it?

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  4. Sounds like a warm and wonderful adventure.

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  5. Love these poems Kim! They get better with everyone you write. :)

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  6. You capture the wonder of childhood brilliantly :)

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  7. loved this! felt right in the moment with you :) So cool to be able to feel our kids' joy & experience life with them!

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    1. Thank you. It is so very cool and I am so grateful for the chance to enjoy it with him.

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  8. So, so beautiful. I had a similar walk with my little girl a few nights ago - the magic of being in nature together seems to slow down time. And they are so in tune with the world, not distracted by other things yet. I love it. This is beautiful.

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    1. Thanks Sara. I think that is what I so enjoy about our time in nature together, it slows us both down. We have no idea what time it is, we just enjoy each other and the world around us.

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  9. Such a lovely post. We had our own into the woods moment this weekend. It is just the best times!

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    1. Thanks Kathleen. It really is one of our favourite places to be :)

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  10. This is lovely, Kim. His world is enchanting - what a wonderful mama you are!

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  11. This is a wonderful moment of childhood. You captured it beautifully!

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    1. It is! And it was a pretty wonderful day in the woods :) Thanks Dawn.

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  12. Oh how I wish we lived closer! :)

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    1. Me too Shel. I think a road trip is in order one of these days :)

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  13. What a great lesson and beautiful words. It can be hard to stop and help children to find the answers themselves rather than just answering but once you are in the habit of it and can stop and watch their minds working it all out, it's amazing. I try to do the same with my nephew when we are together, encouraging him along rather than doing everything for him and am impressed every time. You're so wonderful.

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    1. Thanks Sara. It is hard, but so rewarding for both of us when it happens.

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  14. Sounds like a beautiful moment.

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