The Artist and Explorer

This last Saturday Andrew and I decided that we should go on a walk. And then we decided it should be a hike. Andrew told me about a place he had heard had boy scout trails that were overgrown. So we threw on our hiking boots, packed a back pack and headed out.

This is why I love Andrew. He helps me just stop folding laundry or talking of projects. He helps me just be. Which is a lot harder than most would admit. Nature is so easy on your soul. The earth doesn't command much. Sometimes it seems like it is just whispering that it wants to be enjoyed. I was never one to walk in the wilderness until I met Andrew. There was something inside of me longing to do this, I just didn't know that nature was what it was. I sometimes am still afraid I might step on a snake, but then Andrew says something like," Oh its too cold for them now. They are in the ground." Or "Thats why I walk first" and I am comforted.

Saturday was cloudy and cold for spring but the air opened up our hearts. Sometimes when we are out as a family in the middle of beauty and space for thoughts, it seems all is right with the world. It is hard to describe how a hike in the woods can make me feel. But I know connection is the root of it all. I feel connected to what God has made, to my family, and to God himself. All the little things seems less important.

We hiked all around and the smell of water and earth captivated us. We just kept talking about the smell. I wanted to bottle it up in a mason jar. We crossed logs over water. Andrew had Blanche on his back, and I had my own stumbling self. So we both accomplished something in not falling in the water.

After the hike we sat in the back of our van with the backseat folded down. We ate apples and drank water. We talked and Blanche just sat there for once. We left once my toes were cold because I had taken off my wet and muddy boots. It was a pretty magical afternoon.

After walking through the woods I started thinking more about how Andrew and I are on the same team. How we are partners in marriage, not competitors. I never thought I would come to feel like I was competing in a marriage, but slowly it can become that when both people work hard all day. It can easily become how many diapers I've changed, or how many dinners he has cooked. But I have come to see it doesn't matter. We both work hard. We are both tired. We are both trying our best. So really I need to be doing everything I can to help my husband, because I know he is doing the same for me. And the more we continue to do these things for each other, the cycle will continue to turn.

I joked on our hike that we were both using our majors on our walk. He got a degree in Outdoor Leadership, and I got mine in photography. He is the explorer, and I am the artist. We are lovers and dreamers. We are living and loving each other as best as we know how.