Adventure 101

Today, I spent the day with my family.  Well, sort of family...We had Easter dinner at my step-mom's ex-husband's home.  Yes, I wrote that correctly...It's a LONG story.   The three little "cousins" are four years old, then the older girls were six and eight.  It was a jammed packed day with easter egg hunts, playing outside, and a BIG dinner. Mackenzie calls the host "Grand-Dad"...because all of the rest of the cousins call him that!  She just goes with the flow.  

So, all the kids were exploring the creek in the back of Grand-Dad's house.  I told my step-sisters that I felt strange not being with Mackenzie.  They just looked at me like I was strange.  I just never let her play outside without me being right there with her.  Am I overprotective?  I think not....She's FOUR~!  

Well, my husband and I stepped outside for a moment to see if we could see the kids playing outside!  Suddenly, we heard a loud scream/cry.  I thought it was my step-sister's son...he is usually the one who cries.  We decided to walk and check out what was happening.  Across the neighbor's back yard, then through a wooded lot, we walked together.  Then, we heard Mackenzie crying, "I want my Momma!"  She was following another young friend to us.

Mackenzie was soaked from head to toe in muddy creek water!  I couldn't believe my eyes!  I asked her if she fell into the creek.  She said, "No, I wanted to see what it felt like to walk in the creek!"  I giggled!  "Are there other kids in the creek?"   She said, "No, just me and Julia."

I couldn't tell if she was crying because she was scared or if she was scared she would get into trouble.  Poor girl!  We had to take her up to her cousin's bath-strip her down, wash all the mud off her legs, then, slip her into "boy" clothes!  (which she did not like at all!)

A part of me was glad she had that experience-she had a little adventure!  How fun!  Then, another part of me was relieved it wasn't a serious mistake.  

So, we were cleaning up the kitchen later that evening...

Mackenzie comes running in with urgency in her eyes.  She said, "Mom, come on!"  I followed her outside.  "What do you need Mackenzie?"  She said, "I don't know, but just follow me!"  A part of me wanted to walk back inside the house...but, she was like a little dog trying to protect her family.  

She said, "Come on, Mom!"  I followed through the backyard of the neighbor's house...then, the wooded lot, across the bridge, where I heard screams and cries.  I looked across the bridge and I began laughing.  All the cousins were stuck in the neighbor's old hammock.  One was upside down with her legs up in the air, one was lying stomach flat scared to move, another was on her back not able to move without help, the last was "pretending" to be stuck-he jumped into a hole of the hammock.  

I said, "Are you guys pretending to be stuck?"  I wished at that moment to have a camera because it was the funniest thing to see four kids all jumbled up in a old hammock.  One girl had tears coming down her face, "No, it was not a trick."  I helped each child out of their odd position.  Thinking..How in the world did this happen?  I couldn't help but laugh, it reminded me of all the adventure books I read as a child.  This whole day seemed to be right out of a book!

Then I  said, "Hey!  I think it's time for some Easter Cake!"  It helped the six pack to move a little faster to the house.  I told them they better be glad that Mackenzie was so persistent, or I might have stayed in the kitchen.  Little Mackenzie didn't know how to express the urgency through her words...she just kept saying, "Come on, Momma...Follow Me."

It's wierd to see my child experience life in her own little way.  I remember having adventures with my cousins.  Some of the best memories of my life were on those family holidays.  I know this has nothing to do with infertility...but, it was such a fun memory, I thought I would write it down....