I’ll let you guess which one is me.
May 30, 2014 11:32 am
Dear J, J, L and L,
Picture an eleven/twelve-year-old girl, dressed for winter weather, a makeshift backpack on her back, trudging down a snow packed street toward an open expanse of hilly snow and frosted over trees. A gray ceiling of clouds make the skies seem ominous, but the air is dry and so cold the nose hairs freeze, eyeballs sting.
The girl knows this kind of weather. She’s lived it every winter of her life.
That girl is me.
I’d decided one day to hike down to the park, three houses away and build myself an igloo and then spend the day inside its peaceful and quiet interior. I’d brought a blanket, a couple of books, some snacks and a small school sized thermos of hot chocolate. I even had a bucket to press the snow into “blocks” to stack on each other.
Turns out the temperatures were colder than anticipated and the dryness of the air also meant a dry crusty snow. That snow wouldn’t stick together. Not even a decent snowball could form from its crystalline structure. It wasn’t the fluffy wet stuff we usually had piling up all winter. I could barely break through the crust of the snow with my bucket to fill it up.
Fifteen minutes into my adventure I was done.
I sat down in the snow, contemplated drinking the hot chocolate and reading for a few minutes out in the open, but it just wasn’t what I’d planned. I trudged back home to the noise of younger siblings, mom teaching piano lessons, chores, warm house and everyday boring life.
I’ll let you guess which one is me.
I loved adventure as a kid. I especially loved invention and making do with the materials at hand.
Yup.
I never dreamed I’d use such “skills” and desires as a mother. And yet, the adventure of raising children utilized those things in ways I wasn’t even really aware of until recently.
photo by imoni
I’d still like to live where I don’t need to rely on a car.
And I’d love living a completely self reliant life. Build a small rustic cabin, use solar, have a generator, get our water from a well, plant a massive garden and fruit trees, get around on a motorbike and a jeep or better yet, a mountain bike. Wouldn’t it be something to wake every morning to mountain views and the smell of pine or snow or crunchy leaves? One trip into town once a month for supplies.
I suppose you could say I’ve lived parts of my dream in some convoluted ways. We’ve relied on each other, which made us closer, crazier, and cozier. We own some wonderful memories don’t we? All crafted out of making do, making it up, making our own fun, making the best of things. It’s that whole making lemonade out of life’s lemons thing you’ve heard about.
’nuff said
I often picture the past thirty odd years as a roller coaster ride with all of us in the cars, hands in the air, screaming, eyes popping, certain that the next ninety degree turn or steep drop will do us in. And yet we survived, and had some fun, and learned a ton of stuff. Feels like now that you’re all married that particular roller coaster ride came to a stop. (Did you keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times? I think not! hehehehe)
Now, you’re all off on your own adventures.
My life of adventure so far has surprised me in more ways than I could have ever imagined. I’m thinking there’s more adventure ahead, too. I’m just hoping the snow isn’t iced over and that I’m dressed warm enough for whatever happens next.
Here’s praying that your adventures turn out better than you can imagine.
Mine have, so far.
All my love,
Mom
“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.” ~G. K. Chesterton
Posted by Kami
Categories: Family, Friday Letters
Tags: adventure, exploration, Friday letter, homemade, lemonade, Letter to My Kids, self-made, self-reliant
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I love the quote at the end. Very fitting to summarize an excellent post.
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By Dan Antion on May 30, 2014 at 11:43 am
Thanks, Dan!
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By Kami on May 30, 2014 at 11:45 am
Loved this post, Kami! You made my day… Thanks!!!!!! Leann Date: Fri, 30 May 2014 18:32:54 +0000 To: leanncordon@hotmail.com
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By Leann Cordon on May 30, 2014 at 4:31 pm
So THAT’S where J and L got their climbing-out-of-windows from….haha. 🙂 Loving these letters, Ma!
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By Leanne on May 30, 2014 at 9:01 pm
Wait. L climbed out of windows?
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By Kami on May 30, 2014 at 10:00 pm
This was a wonderful post, Kami. Your young life sounds so much a carbon copy of mine, and your perspective on living is one that resonates deeply with me to this day. I admire your wonderful sense of adventure and I believe your family to be incredibly lucky to have you at the center of it.
Cheers!
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By peakperspective on June 24, 2014 at 8:46 am
Ah, you are so kind with your comments. I’m the lucky one to have them around me. Thanks for dropping by!
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By Kami on June 25, 2014 at 7:15 am