First Hike

July 27, 2008

Our returns to church over the past three weeks have been great.

Last week, Melissa and I served as Sunday school assistants to Katie's class and were especially pleased at how well she now tolerates the other children. While she still resists being as social as we'd like her to be, we had the opportunity to note that at least half the class of 4-year-olds were equally resistant. One shy boy, Will, found the courage within himself to approach Katie on several occasions to talk. During craft time, he really wanted to sit next to her, but no seats were available. He actually looked sad that he had to sit at another table.

This week, from what Katie told us upon picking her up, her behavior continued to be exemplary.

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During our recent nightly walks, Katie asked if we could venture down the neighborhood dead-end road in to see where it goes. She was ready for adventure! The paved road turns into a red clay path immediately following the sign reading "Future road extension." The path is short and straight but seems to plunge immediately into wilderness. The path is at the corner of the neighborhood, and with no busy roads nearby, the sounds of cars and children are quickly silenced. We walked no more than a quarter mile into the woods, but Katie loved it and wanted the two of us to camp at a clearing where we had stopped. I convinced her that we should return home after informing her that her Mommy would miss us AND that the bugs would bite us all night as we lay on the muddy earth.

Two nights later, she wanted to hike again. On this trek, we took a different path beyond the "Future road extension" sign. Again, she loved the experience of walking through the woods.

For today’s Sunday afternoon activity, I had the idea of the three of us hiking the Hemlock Bluffs Nature Trail in Cary. As a seasoned backcountry hiker, I don’t care for the park's wide and professionally mulched trails, but for exposing Katie to a more authentic hiking experience, I figured it would be perfect. We chose the Swift Creek trail, which measured .8 mile. She was so excited to be hiking in “real” woods and took off running. If there was any wildlife in the park, we never had a chance for spotting any, what with Katie running and yelling enthusiastically for virtually the entire distance. I had envisioned showing her different trees and woodland trivia. But that didn’t happen. She just wanted to RUN!

Katie seemed to enjoy the experience and was exhausted by the trail’s end. I was pleased with the budding nature-lover aspect of her personality.