*afuera

Last weekend a friend and I went to hear Richard Louv speak at our library. He's the author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, which I haven't read but am definitely going to at some point this summer. I've always held memories of my childhood very dear. Memories of exploring every inch of our neighborhood with our BFFs .. the field across the street next to the witch's house [poor lady, she just didn't want us in her yard] with the mysterious fenced off spring; another empty lot with a fantastic climbing treewhere we played Little House in the Big Woods-style, someone always pretending that a bear ate her leg; the big pine tree that created it's own enclosed and secret fort; every nook formed by the roots of the huge cottonwoods and the wonderful crunch you could get riding your bike over the fallen cotton seeds, my mom's garden beds that provided wealths of plants and flowers to dissect and inspect... all this not even to mention the Ranch [which -if you know me- know to be, well, one of the most special-to-me places in the world]. Anyway, I so value my nature/exploration/outside-centered childhood and have always been sad at the 'changing of the times' that seems to say my children just won't be able have that independent, nature-steeped experience that I did [which was already a far cry from both my parents' ranch upbringings!].

[Sigh. I just interuppted writing this to check CNN which I should NOT have done. Lead story about a little California girl killed one afternoon hopping from friend's house to friend's house. How incredibly sad and sickeningly horrible. I can never get these stories out of my mind. Louv talked how one big problem with kids getting outside these days is the parents' fears of such things. He actually said abductions are down in past years, and the majority of them are actually by family members or acquaintances. The media repeats these stories (like I just read!) over and over and gets them forefront in our minds.]

So what do we do?? I know Ben and I will have no problem getting our kids up onto hiking trails and playing in the creeks, but what about the independent neighborhood roaming that I remember so fondly? Is the danger really that much bigger or is it that we are hyper-informed to every single tragic event that happens now? I don't really know the answer..

Geez, I need to turn my thoughts back around [I hate the news!].. On a more positive note, I've been making it a point in the last week to visit some of the more natural parts of our park - let Vera (+Stella) collect leaves and dandelions, sit under the cottonwoods, look for baby ducks, etc. It's really been calming and peaceful. What's more, when I took these pictures the other day, Vera firmly told me "no", that I was "all done" with both camera and phone! Apparently she wanted a bit of pure nature too :)