fire and ice

We had a small break from our otherwise extreme winter weather this weekend. It was absolutely beautiful. Full sunshine, blue skies, and temperatures into the 50's. We tried to soak in every second.

On Saturday morning, I was having a.....a moment. One those times when I needed to get out and escape the world for a minute, or five, or sixty. :) So, I put Gil down for a nap and started walking toward the fields adjacent to the house. I noticed after a bit that Elliot was following me. At first, I told him that I needed to be alone, but he still kept up for a bit, about 50 ft. behind me. Finally, I stopped and said that I just didn't want to have to talk. And he said "OK." And I knew it was. Of all my children, it's Elliot that would have no problem being silent and taking a walk "with me" and yet alone. So he ran up with me, and we just quietly walked. I hadn't taken this walk since the winter, with everything so died down and exposed. I just went slow and took it all in. We walked through some broken spots in the deer fence to explore some deer tracks/trails and some thickets, and the back side of the creek that runs through our front yard. Elliot would stop every now and then and stuff a treasure in his pocket. At one point, I wished I had brought my camera, but then I was glad I hadn't. It was a nice little private experience that is etched in my mind pretty thoroughly. And I like it there. On the far side of the fields, there were some giant patches of snow that had still not melted, and were more like very thick piles of squishy ice. Elliot and I silently got sticks and drew designs and words in the snow. He held his hands out and I traced his shadow on the ice, and then he did mine. We stood in the potato field for a bit and silently remembered plowing there, planting, weeding, picking the bugs off the leaves, and later harvesting. What a sweet morning, and it did my soul good.

That same evening, the kids wanted to have a fire outside because we hadn't been able to do that in such a long time. So, Connor got it going, and we all joined him for a bit to enjoy the setting sun...