Doing what boys do

Lately I've had a hard time figuring out what to do with the boys. They don't enjoy what I enjoy doing, and I don't enjoy what they enjoy doing. So a few weeks ago I decided I would learn to enjoy something they already enjoy - hiking. My girlfriend loves hiking and has been a non-stop go hiker since before her baby was born, and still does it even now after she has her baby, even with her baby. I figured she'd be the perfect person to learn with. So the other day we went to a park out by her house and hiked down to the river and back and guess what? I actually did learn to enjoy hiking. My first hurdle was learning to actually look ahead of me. I asked her how she could walk all over the rocks and changing terrain without looking at her feet and she said she looked ahead. D'oh. I had to learn that with driving and walking through groups of people, so I guess it makes sense I had to learn that with hiking. After that I made a point of looking twelve seconds ahead, just like I do with driving, and stopped tripping over my own feet. At one point I even had to run back for my jacket, and was able to run up and down the rocky hill, no problem. The best part was, I actually had fun.

When I got home I did an hour of power cleaning before a showing, after which I nearly fainted with my heart racing in a way I've never felt it race before. I got lightheaded and dizzy, and I immediately laid down on the floor. I guess that was my second hurtle - learning to make sure I eat enough, especially while I was in the middle of a detox, before and during a hike. While she had packed lunch and I had agreed to as well, I completely forgot. I only ended up eating a few of her berries and lunchmeat. Though she offered more, it wasn't on my detox plan and silly me didn't think of how important it was to have it any way. Either way, nearly fainting didn't deter me. I still had a great time, and I was determined to go hiking again.

The other day the boys and I had some time before art class so I figured out my iPhone Yelp app would show me hiking places nearby. We found a gorgeous park to hike in. Unfortunately, after my 60 uturns to find the place we only had ten minutes. In those few short minutes, though, we found a 25 foot wide waterfall, climbed a few rocks, and found a few sticks (well, the boys did that last one, any way). The best part was, I actually had fun. I couldn't believe it!

So this weekend was another gorgeous winter day in Texas, and Brando and I had some time to hang out with the boys after hitting up the local farmer's market. We went back to explore the hiking place I had found with the boys earlier. We ended up hiking the trail around the creek and climbing about 300 feet to the top of the hill, only to descend very quickly. We had a blast, and Shawners only complained the last five minutes which in my book is a success.

Rest assured we will be hiking again, but this particular story doesn't have such a happy little ending. Poor little Shawners is tuckered out in bed now after throwing up a huge amount of food twice. Either something didn't sit well with him, or the whole hike tuckered him out. Unfortunately, we didn't really anticipate going on such a long hike so we didn't bring water with us. While it was cool and nearing sunset, I'm sure our bodies still needed water. This only deepens my feeling of how important it is to learn to do things you enjoy before you have kids so that when they come along they just get to enjoy it with you. Next time, of course, we'll have water, but had I "practiced" a few more times with my girlfriend I might've remembered it the first time the four of us went hiking together on our own!