In through the outdoors- Trailways

“Great! We will pick you up at around 1:00pm” My son hangs up the phone and is all smiles. He just invited two friends to the pool on Sunday afternoon. It is still awkward for my son to call up friends on the telephone. He has a lot of friends but needs a push to get into the calling mode and once he is in the flow, becomes increasingly relaxed. The last time we went to the pool, he sat with us and only went in the pool with me. He is much happier playing with kids his age, and although we are best buddies, hanging with me does not foster social growth. It is a huge give and take when it comes to your kid’s social life, parents need to juggle when to push your kids away, at the same time keeping them close. I want to play with my kid forever, but in reality that is a selfish act.

Our afternoon plans are shaping up to be fun, but what about the morning? Keeping all things healthy, we drive over to Saxon Woods for a little hike / trail run. We park the car under a shady spot and find the trail head. We analyze the vague map posted on the post, trying to figure out the best route for our mildly novice group (my son wanted to wear flip flops) when we spot a man standing next to his car sweating profusely. "Do you know these trails?" my wife says like she is asking for directions at a highway rest stop.  The sweaty man is happy to oblige as he whips out his detailed trail map protected within a sweat-proof plastic holder. After a few suggestions and a couple of hand gestures to go left and right, we hit the trail literally running. The trail was wide and has a nice mixture of dirt, rocks and hills to make it a nice workout. My son kept up the pace as we ran, walked, and ran the trail loop covering 2.5 miles. We made it back to our car huffing and puffing, a little dirty and sweaty, but happy we did the trail and plan on doing it regularly. We had packed a picnic lunch and found a nice spot to stretch, clean up a bit and chow down on a few sandwiches and refreshing fruit. 

After the trail we drove back to town to pick up my son's two friends and went over to the pool. We found a semi shady spot to drop our pool gear, while my son and friends secure a spot high up on the hill behind us. They hit the pool immediately, spending the few hours swimming, hanging and munching on their towels, then hitting the p as they heated up. My wife and I took advantage of the childless time to relax and catch up on some reading. I looked up from my book to scan the pool for the boys, eyeing them by the three sets of feet sticking out of the water, each leg wavering as they attempt to see who can do a hand stand under the water the longest, slowly a set of legs topples over, starting a chain reaction causing a tangle of legs splashing down. I felt like joining them in the fun, but quickly thought otherwise, my son is with his friends and we both are is doing just fine.