I don't recall taking my daughter to a real hike. We've brought her to small trails that are mostly paved and really short so the very first time we decided it was time.
I have to say my daughter started out excited but as soon as we started walking her mood changed instantly. Pft. Women ha. She dreaded her feet. "Are we there yet"? Janessa said. "We just started." I laughed out loud. We got slowed down because to her she didn't find this part to be interesting at all. It was a small incline and I can feel her grumpiness coming out. I encourage her as my husband always encourage me. " You can do it, trust me you're gonna see something awesome!" I keep saying over and over. We started hearing a water stream as it gets louder and louder when we got near. " Mom I hear water." Janessa yelled. At last, we saw a huge stream of water pouring from a very tall cliff as we stood in front of it like tiny ants. There was a small path that lead to the bottom, as we climbed down, we noticed how Awesome this place was. We had the whole area to ourselves and my daughter's mood started to lit up. We ate first, All of us with a turkey crossiamt sandwich and each individual chips. 2 bbq lays , Cheetos and a side of apples. Quietly, Janessa looking at the waterfall as she takes a bite into her sandwich. " Is she enjoying the scenery or just her sandwich, I can't tell." A wondering thought I said to myself. " mom this place is cool"! Janessa finally spoke. A relief that overcame my clouded head of thoughts. I love the thought of sharing this to her, showing her many places and cool treasuries, it warms my heart. After we ate, we grabbed a stick and started playing with rocks and touching the coldest water. Towards leaving, I wanted to bring the biggest oval shaped rock that had a marble stripe. This was something my husband and I came across in Winthrop, an artist who collected such a thing and turned it to a art piece. I don't know if it's possible for us to do, but the idea of having one started thinking crafty. During the search, all of a sudden my daughter wanted one too. After carrying each in our bags, it made the weight of it feel like a ton. My husband told her if she wants it she has to carry it on her own. One of many tricks as a parent to see if she wanted it bad enough. it turns out she was determined! From the beginning of the trail, she was grumpy, to ' I'm going to carry the rock all the way'. Remember that small path we came down from, that means we'd had to climb up a bit. Watching Janessa as she started climbing the rocks, holding her big rock to the side. Strategically taking one step and moving the rock and the next step moving her feet. She is too smart. Never a day she doesn't amazes me. We took breaks because I'm telling you, for a little girl carrying that 2-3 pound rock., gotta take breaks. Some parents might think this is torture but come on. She's going to marvel that rock when she gets home and remember that hike as a memory carrying that heavy rock from the coolest waterfall. A true reward. Our rocks sits in our backyard. From a sentimental family we treasure the find of a great memory we shared together.
