Each of my children grew six inches, and I decided that if my babies thought they could grow up on me, then I could make them go on a three mile hike. Take THAT, growth spurts!
But not really. What I thought we would do is go on a nice little walk. We found a nature trail, which was exciting! I had the wagon with us, and a stroller, but why not let them run around and explore? Besides, they think strollers are so last year.
We brought animals. We brought snacks. We saw butterflies and puppies and centipedes.
I let the children run and skip, get all that energy out kiddos! Use it all!
(Hindsight : I am an idiot.)
We found a dry river bed to explore. It was pretty awesome.
It also made us very thirsty and some of us could not understand why we couldn't drink the green water teeming with slimy wildlife. I was a horrible, mean mother.
I announced it was about time to head back.
And that's when I realized that this had just turned into a three hundred mile hike.
With two tiny-legged kids.
By myself.
I'll be honest and say I knew this wasn't going to end well for me.
About two steps into our turn around, both begged for me to carry them. I told them that this was only the halfway point. That we still needed to walk back the way we came.
"You didn't tell us we were gonna hafta do THAT!!"
Well. My bad.
This is not a smile. This is a fake grimace. On my part anyway. Their smiles were authentic because they no longer had to use their legs.
And if you ever want a cardio workout that you will remember for days, just go on a hike with a couple of toddlers and not pay attention to how far you have gone.
Remember the turn-around.
My children knew how loved they were because I kept reminding them. And my thighs have never hated me more.
xo d
