Several hot and dry days over the long Memorial Day weekend gave us a chance for outdoor work and play together. We finally stained our new deck. My 10 year old son was thrilled to paint with us. His constant chattering about his thoughts, feelings, school, Minecraft and best techniques to paint, made the work fun. I smiled when he told me his cure for his sore throat. He said, “Mama, my throat does not hurt anymore. I guess I just needed to ‘talk it off’, get it? Like ‘walk it off’.” He certainly did.

Tuesday, my husband and I picked up our son from school and we all went to Patapsco State Park.  We walked/jogged on the Grist Mill Trail.  My son had to get close to the water, to feel it on his feet and make it splash with rocks and sticks.  My husband joined my son in stone skipping.  I never knew my husband could get a stone to hop on the water 4 times in one throw. My son begged to swim across the creek and climb a huge rock. It was bold for him to put his whole body into a murky creek filled with unknown critters.

When we explore and work in the outdoors together we discover more about nature, but even more about each other.