hiking club

Life keeps blowing us forward, fast and furious.  After a midnight arrival on Sunday night, I was back at it Monday morning the hampers full of laundry to fold and put away and my overflowing work inbox, dueling subjects for most in need of attention.  From there the week barreled on and I felt myself fraying at the edges.  By Wednesday night, Solomon's midnight hacking cough grated at my patience instead of my compassion.  "Can you just try not to cough?"  I begged him.  Parenting at it's finest.

When he woke up the next morning, eyes crusted shut and swollen with goop, I realized he was actually pretty sick.  Mega pink eye and a nasty earache were affirmed and our week took a little shift.  Instead of ignoring the chores at home to wade through the work at school, I settled into both.  Jeff and I traded out, me at school, then back when I didn't have class, then at the doctors.  When she let us know that he wouldn't be returning to school on Thursday either, we did what most sane people do, and called in a sub.  A mid-week, open day with my boy.  Too contagious to go to school, but with it enough to enjoy a day at home with his mama. 

I forget how fast we move until we stop.  Our day together was glorious.  Glorious in that laundry folding, closet organizing, block building kind of way.  I have kind of neglected the full-time job that is, "Keeping A Home" since returning to work in September.  The drawers needed a clean-out, the coat closet an overhaul.  When I checked the weather and read that a frost was heading in this weekend, I decided that itchy eyes and I needed to get outside. 

I've said it before, but there's nothing better than being outside with Solomon.  He can be a royal pain in the ass about eating anything healthy.  He has a terrible case of the gimmies most times we go anywhere that sells anything.  But put that boy in the woods, or by a river, or at the sea, and you see the most present, creative and lovely little man. 

As we walked, I asked Soli what sort of activities he'd want to do when he got a bit older.  Eliana's been busy this fall with soccer, ballet, and most recently, rock climbing, so he's hearing all about the offerings of our full little community.  Soli didn't miss a beat. 

Oh, I just want to be in hiking club.

Hiking club?  Hmmm. 

Oh, Soli!  That sounds awesome.  Tell me more about hiking club.

Oh, you know mom, we hike and stop and have snacks.  I could, like, pack my backpack with some Halloween candy and, like, all my swords.  And we can have meetings by the birdhouse.  And it can be our special club.  Just ours.  Not Ellie's or dad's.

Homeboy is a crazy talker when his sister isn't around.  

So we started hiking club.  We had our first meeting under the ponderosas by the birdhouse.  We talked about what we were thankful for in nature.  We had some m and m's.  We slayed some tall grass with our swords.  We had races and Soli let me beat him up the hill (he knows I'm an atrocious runner). 

Hiking club has met twice more since Thursday.  We've jumped in leaves and slid down boulders and crawled like cheetahs through the underbrush.  There has been no complaining, no negativity, no whining. 

Now don't ask me what it was like when I tried to feed him dinner tonight.  Don't ask how the car ride was to Costco this afternoon.  Tonight I choose to focus on homeboy's hiking club.  His love of adventure, his love of the wild and my love for him.