I don’t know how this will turn out so bear with me, as I have never done this before. Hopefully I’m doing it right.
Your probably thinking ‘Wild and Free’, what is she talking about. Well it’s a lot of things. Mostly to do with nature, organic you picks, wild animals, and wild food. One of the things I’ve taught my children as they were growing up is to love the outdoors (woods, camping, hiking, climbing, canoeing, gardening you name it). It is something that my parents instilled in me, when I was growing up, and has stayed with me. I love it so much, that I wanted my children to have that joy too.
Experts say that children need that connection to nature. I agree. I’ve seen many children start to thrive so much more when they have this connection. Let’s face it, today we live in a very stressful world, apart from nature in almost every way.
Ever notice how at happy and at peace you become, when taking a walk in nature? The site of a deer in the field quietly munching on grass… You stop, and the feeling of happiness that comes over you from being a part of that moment. Many times my children have had this moment, and even though they have seen wild animals many times, they still get excited as if it was their first time.
My youngest, Kaylee says she feels free for that brief moment watching a Hawk or Eagle gliding in the sky. She could just sit there for hours watching.
I’ve spent lots of time, when my boys were younger, teaching them how to grow organic food, search for wild edibles (so much more nutrition – amazing). My husband and I also love taking them on trips. One of the trips I remember the most was to an organic U-pick. It was like a little piece of heaven. The U-pick was 154 acres of Fruit trees of all kinds, even going up into the sides of the mountains. It was amazing.
We spent the whole day walking, tasting, climbing and picking. You owners told us that we were to try the fruits while we were picking them to make sure that we liked them. I thought, "Are you kidding? Wow!" They even had some open fields of vegetables mixed in with the fruit trees. They had corn growing that was ready to eat. I have never tasted fresh raw corn from the garden before. So I walked over found one that was good and ready, broke it off, peeled the husk and as I sunk my teeth into the corn, my mouth just burst with juice and flavor from the corn.
I am now spoiled. I want it raw, fresh and wild! My whole family loved it just as much. That day was beautiful, sunny, free of stress, and I would have loved to stay there in that moment forever. But alas, we had to go home at the end of the day.
We were happy, full, and each of us had our hands full of the fresh bounty that we picked that day. Home we went to have a relaxing evening and wonderful meal of fruits and vegetables. The children went swimming while Ray and I just sat on the blanket relaxing and watching them, as the sun slowly went down and painted the sky in beautiful colors.
As I reflect, I think, "What a wonderful day we had surrounded by nature. No stress, just free."
I hope that you, the readers, will take a break from the world with your children and be wild and free with nature.
All the best
Monique