Troll Hunt, Morton Arboretum July 2018

I recently read this:

I’m holding my calendar loosely – saying Yes more than No. I’m opening the screen door to my neighbor’s granddaughter, sending her home with an armful of watermelon. Visiting neighbors, delivering muffins. 

I am realizing that I have spent years successfully whittling down my life in the name of simplicity that I had forgotten to add back in a few essentials: the element of surprise, sweat on your brow, a good old-fashioned inconvenience for the sake of another.

And now, slowly, with much debris – the road is beginning to widen.

Its about one woman who simplified her life to a very thin path, if you will.  As stages of life change, the width of one's path also changes.  This resonates with me.

Boys are older and more active in extra-curricular activities.  This is great, helps with their own development, but I worry they will not know what home feels like, or what it feels like to tinker around their rooms for an afternoon.  I want to encourage that development as well.

Will I hurt them more if they dont go to a birthday party?  Will they still find friends and bond with them to make long-lasting friendships?  Will they look back and be happy they spent time outside?

Right now with Summer starting to wind down, and the nights are slowly getting cooler, we will be outside, we will google things to do and then put the phone down.  We will have popsicles until we have brain freezes.  We will also explore our world and learn about all the things we can.

In this current stage, that is what we are going to do, be outside, be creative, be in motion. 

Troll Hunt, Morton Arboretum July 2018