a few weeks back we took our friday nature adventure group to the nearby hills of charlottesville for some apple picking. (if i had my stuff together i would split this into two posts because there are so many pictures, but i know ill never get to that second post so here they all are). i had not been since eden was a few months old, even though i have been resolved to get there every fall. there is always an excuse for not getting out and doing the more adventurous things isnt there? its a hassle with kids. the weather is less than ideal. we have been busy or tired or whatever. and usually the excuses are valid or at least somewhat so. but at the end of the day you just have to decide to do the things that matter, no matter what.
but at the last moment i decided to just suck it up, bundle the kids, and hit the road. and guess what, it was fantastic. i mean, it was still a lot of work. the getting everything and everyone in the car, getting there, parking, bundling, feeding, diaper changing, and then shoving the stroller up hills and through the orchard and then more feeding and bathroom breaks and diapers...it was alot of work. but i had other formidable mothers by my side, with 16 kids in all, and we did the work side by side, and watched our children come alive in the crisp fall air, apples in hand, and mouth.
i always always find that it is worth it to get outside, somewhere beautiful. the longer i am a parent the more intense my desire for simplicity grows. i am more and more convinced that these kids of ours dont need toys and screens and flashy things. they dont even really need ME to amuse them or be responsible for making sure they are entertained. they simply need to be out. outside. outside in places that will increase their God-given curiosity about all things. their God-given thirst for knowledge. their God-given need to feel grounded deeply into what is real.
and this year i almost didnt make it again. i have been feeling a bit out of sorts lately (im not pregnant), and i have been easily able to convince myself to 'sit this one out' or 'not bother with that' too many times lately. i had that feeling about driving for an hour to the top of a mountain to hike around with a double stroller and 3 kids 4 and under. i was thinking, who in the world would do such a thing. its. so. much. work.
and come to think of it, the more i realize how much i too need it. how quickly my spirit and my heart feel in step with my creator when i am outside enjoying that which He has made. how the burdens i cary as a mother and wife and daughter and friend and HUMAN really do float upwards off of me when i get into the open where i can breathe.
after we picked, we sat around and ate lunch, followed by apple cider donuts, followed by putting off the trips home as long as possible. all the kids were content and free and really enjoying each other. and i did not want it to end.
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