Nature girl.

While my husband was at German study yesterday morning, my 7 yr old son got invited to a friend's house to play.

The three kids, the dog and I headed out to walk there. It has been really warm lately. But yesterday morning was cool. We turned around and put on our fleece jackets and hats. We walked through the woods, past the pond, across the stream and got to the friend's house on the other side of the woods. We dropped off S, then I headed back with B, C and the dog. B and C asked to go to "the fallen down tree." It is a gi-normous tree that uprooted during a storm and fell over a stream, spanning the entire stream and taking out another few trees on the way down. The kids like to walk across the trunks and make forts and secret hiding spots.

They were happily doing that, while I sat watching them, scratching the dog on his ears. The sun was shining through the tall trees. All I could hear was my kids playing and the birds chirping. I looked around and saw large birds soaring above us. I noticed a big red-headed woodpecker hopping up a tree. Pileated woodpeckers are 18" tall. I felt privileged to be there, seeing the birds, living near the trees, with kids who love playing outside.

At that moment, I couldn't have been happier. I need to remember to appreciate where I am. Because it's pretty good. The future is promising, nerve-racking, exciting, scary and can be filled with worry, but the now...well, it's pretty awesome.