Enchanted Childhood

~King of The Mountain~

Today we took a walk,

climed a mountain,

got lost,

and found our way back home.

Today we set out to go for our normal nature walk. But it ended up being anything but normal!

First the children wanted to hike a new path that we have never taken them on. So up the steep hill we trudged.

Then we saw a "magic tree". It was quite large and its branches grew twisted and wild.

Next we discovered some strange moss/fungi/fossil on a few large rocks.
We wondered what it might be.

Suddenly I got the brilliant idea to take a shortcut through the woods, up an even steeper hill to another path. It was no small task for Mama and I to get four children and a baby up the embankment, through the sticks and vines and thorns to the top. 

We all eventually made it to the summit of our "mountain", and began to look around to get our barrings. We were in a large hay field, spotted with three wild apple trees, and surrounded by woods. The children had never been to this part of the property, and had no idea where we were.
We were lost!

 We set out in search for a path or a road of some sort, and after much wandering we found one. Up hill to the right and down hill to the left. We all decided that since we went up a hill to get here, we would have to go down a hill to get home.

So we set out to the left and down the "mountain" in search of our long lost home. We passed a large rock and decided that if we couldn't find our way, we would come back to the rock and go back the way we had come.

After we had gone some way, we began to see familiar things. Tractor tire tracks on the path, then the shiny tin roof of our barn, and finally....

Nana's house!

We explored the unknown and survived!

We had great adventures and returned to tell about it!  

The children ran down the hill with great excitment, shouting and cheering all the way!

Mama and I smiled for what we had secretly known all along.

There is something to be said for thinking you are lost and finding your way back home.

Something wonderful!