The weather perked up this weekend, and
since Monday was a day that daycare closed, Jess wanted to take
advantage of the nice timing to go camping. So we did! We went out
to Garner State Park, a few hours west of us, brought food, a tent,
and some sleeping bags, and just hung out for a while.
It was nice. I brought my hammock that
I got for Christmas and spent several nice naptimes in it. We also
did some hiking up the mountain (only sorta in quotes) in the park to
see what it had to offer. We came upon a cave that went down about
30 feet or so, and Tyler was initially pretty nervous because he
knows one thing and one thing only about caves: they have bears in
them. He was pleasantly surprised to discover that this cave had
'Zero Bears', but only after Daddy went down first to make sure it
was safe. I'm so brave.
S'mores were had, of course. Tyler
mostly liked the chocolate, the marshmallows are very messy, and
Tyler doesn't like to be a messy eater. I also did a mostly
successful experiment where you fill an Ice cream cone with
marshmallows and chocolate and strawberries and then heat it up in
the fire. Worked pretty well, but not better than S'mores, which, as
it turns out, you can also put strawberries into. Yum.
At one point we found a dead rabbit.
Tyler wanted to see it, and I let him look at it for a while, though
letting him know that dead things are not safe to be near. He wanted
to know why the rabbit was laying there, and I did my best to explain
death to an almost-three-year-old. I told him that a car probably
hit the rabbit and that sometimes there are hurts that don't get
better, and then the rabbit just goes away and doesn't come back. He
kept asking questions for a while (mostly about cars and safety...and
squashing) and then moved on. Later the rabbit was gone, probably
cleaned up by park staff. Tyler decided, with full authority, that
this meant the rabbit got better. There is no space in his brain
that is shaped like death, it just doesn't fit in there yet. Though
he keeps asking about the rabbit, so maybe it's getting formed.
Anyway, I got to cook breakfast sausage
and eat s'mores and feel justified in my calorie intake because I
then put Tyler in my backpack and hiked to the top of a nearby
mountain (with nice views), so it all mostly evened out. Tyler even
had a good day this morning, his first day back at school, which,
when compared to other 'first days back' we've had to go through, is
nearly miraculous. He doesn't wet himself as much either. He's
getting so big!
-N
1 comment:
A friend of mine said he didn't want to lie to his kid, so they were going to let him know Santa isn't real. (I think this kid is 3-ish). The kid just doesn't believe him. Not about Santa. Or Batman. Or Superman or any of that. Having seen Tevian recently faced with death, I think it's a more complex issue than we give it credit for. Anyway, I'm glad to hear Tyler lives in a world where things make sense to him at least.
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