Calming Nature.

On Saturday, after a delicious lunch with friends, we decided to take a family trip to a nearby park with trails that meander around a small lake.  My husband wanted to take his cyclo-cross bike out for an evening ride and Alice and I decided to join him.  Since it was nearing Alice's potential witching hour and then bedtime, I was a little apprehensive about taking her out of the house.  You see, we have established a nighttime ritual that is really working for us so, to alter that routine in any way, scares the shit out of me.  You know, that whole fear-of-the-unknown.  Silly, I know.  Get over it!  So I did.  And off we three went.

And we had a wonderful time.

When we got to the park, Lee took off on his bike and Alice and I strolled the tree-lined paths that skirt the lake, taking in the fading light and the singing birds.  There were elderly couples walking hand-in-hand.  There was a dad and son sitting on a rock with fishing poles dangling in the water.  There was a group of women out on a power-walk.  And then there was Alice and me.  Alice, with her eyes wide open, taking in all the sites and sounds, enjoying every minute of being taken out of her nighttime routine.  She eventually nodded off, lulled to sleep by the gentle bumps of the stroller and the sounds of croaking frogs (no joke) and chirping crickets.

I felt so calm.  So clear-headed.  So content.  And so did Alice.

When we got home, we did an abbreviated version of her nighttime routine and Alice calmly and promptly drifted off into a dream-filled sleep all about the wonders of nature, I'm sure.  And I realized that getting out of the house and out into the fresh air was exactly what all three of us needed.  It is amazing what just a little nature-walk can do for your psyche and your soul.

At least for me, anyway.