nostalgia
Yesterday we spent some time with friends and as we adults sat around talking we did some reminiscing about how much we used to enjoy little outings with our little kids. Expectations were so reasonable! Everything was so delightful to experience! Well, the boys may have been listening and feeling the same way, because when Harvey, Elijah and I took a walk in the afternoon we found ourselves bushwhacking along Elm Brook where, I recalled, there used to be a path many years ago. Only a short bushwhack, though, and before long we reached the bridge where the bike path crosses the brook, a spot where Harvey at least had spent many delightful hours exploring and playing when he was well younger than Elijah is now.
old haunts
What do you do at a stream? Throw sticks, climb on the retaining walls, test how cold the water is, see if you can wade all the way across (no), find secret homes on the bank... Besides the water, there was also some ice on the bridge that Elijah and I enjoyed sliding on. Then we walked a little further—but not too far! We climbed on some stumps and loading docks, visited the Budd Rail Diesel Car, and pushed the tiny rail cart thing up and down the narrow gauge tracks. Then we headed for home since it was time for Harvey to play Minecraft. We were out for an hour and a quarter, and we didn't get farther than half a mile from home. And it was a highlight of the day! Not bad for entertaining an almost-teenager.