A Walk in the Woods

 

She walked the whole way, on her own. 2.5 miles without asking to be carried or whining that it was too far. She walked the whole way, on her own, at her own pace, stopping to examine fallen leaves, picking up random sticks to carry for a bit, never once worrying about keeping up with the other kids. I was busy enjoying some adult conversation with a friend, we tried to keep our pace somewhere between hers and the others, keeping an eye on everyone, worried she'd feel bad if she was left too far behind. When I finally realized that she was just fine strolling along behind all of us, I snapped this photo, and paid a little more attention to just what she was doing. After a crazy busy week rushing from one thing to the next, none of which was of any interest to her, she was soaking up all the Autumn a 4 year can, at her own pace.

I think it may have helped that my friend suggested we walk a bit earlier on this day so that my sweet girl wasn't trying to finish the hike at nap time. It's so nice to have good friends who consider things like naps :)