The best day of my life

That is what my young one told me several times on the way home this evening.

We went to the park and walked down the hill to where a tree had fallen across the creek. In a flash childhood memories of walking on logs came back to me as she shimmied out onto that log till she was in the middle of the creek. When she got back to the bank, I started walking on the log out towards the middle...wow, what a ustacud feeling that was. However I kept my balance far enough for her to worry and insist I turn back...LOL.

Next we explored a small waterfall...which she traversed first, finding it to be quite slippery in the middle I was concisely warned of the slickness...after all what would an old man like me know about crossing the rock dam? She was proud that we both made it. We sat and watched this young woman running up the steps of this entire amphitheater, walk down , run back, walk down...many times...so naturally once we made it back across the dam...we were ready for our next adventure...the steps.

She started running up the stairs and got about a third the way up before she heard me giving it all i got pounding up the steps behind her...even with the extra 13 pounds I've put on during this past month of illness and bad weather, I caught her...but when we hit the top I stopped to catch up with my heartbeat...while she made a lap down and back up then stood panting beside me holding her chest like I was..LOL..

Then came time to go out onto another dam from which we returned and she picked up a stick and started breaking it into short 3 inch sticks and handing them out...we each got a stick for each adventure we had completed...we were now at 4 sticks apiece. As we headed up a dry creek and found a narrow tunnel that went under the road...that was amazing..her eyes were wide open, it was full of excitement....5 sticks.

Crossing the "shakey bridge", discovering and smelling and tasting wild onion, smashing cedar buds into our hands to smell the cedar, by the time she hit the swing she was going higher than any kid on the set...high as a person can go..she was getting that fall and chain jerk that happens when you go to the maximum height before the angle changes on bringing you back down...swinging hard and fast...setting up leaves in her breaks..leaves to "land in"....and back on the swing.

Then the greatest adventure of all...going to visit a little cabin and graveyard of a famous deceased legislature...the gates were locked but she was small enough to squeeze through..but that was as far as she wanted to go into this potentially "haunted" place..but she just felt such awe in having walked on ground and near this great man's house and grave.

Then we stopped by Grammys, but she's really on the down and sick tonight so we went on to the candy store where she got about a dollars worth of dime candy...and came home...she just kept saying "this is the best day of my life".

Amazing what 3 hours can mean to a kid when it is tuned to their nature...which for her is exploration and adventure. Amazing what it did for me..after all the work and time and joys and heart poured into earlier children...and seeing that dissolve as to even be beneath the basic politeness of Christian love...I think it was growing a bitterness in me that says children just are not worth it..no matter what sacrifices you make they still turn on you and it means all that you try to teach them of compassion, love, kindness, happiness, sing songs in the day, dance a jig when you're happy, struggle as hard as you have to to keep bills paid, and clothes on their backs and food in their tummys...means nothing to them....yet this last of the litter is getting my hopes up once again that maybe just maybe...a kid will grow up and benefit from wisdom and guidance and love and not scoff at it and reject it as stupid.

Her joy and excitement over the simple things in life delights my soul and lifts any bitter after taste. She reminds me of how I've lived...so much wonder, so much fascination, joy so ready at hand. She is so thankful for the life I've "given her" this day...as I often feel towards God for the days He has given me.