After we met with the pool contractor we took a walk with the kids through the woods behind our house. There are several well defined trails as well as a creek that runs through the 500 acres of woods . We walked down the trail to the creek and on the way back E noticed another "trail." We figured it would be a good experience for the kids to see what happens where you follow "trails" rather then the well marked path. The trail disappeared and we were lost. We stumbled back to the path through vines and thorn bushes hoping the kids had learned their lesson. They hadn't so when they found another "trail" we did it all over again. After that the kids agreed that they should stay on the paths!
We headed back to the house for lunch and W and E headed off to baseball practice. The girls wanted to go back to the woods. We had told the kids that we would spray paint a mark on the tree on the home trail so they would always know which one it was, but we hadn't done it yet. I told the girls they could go play but to stay on the home trail since it wasn't marked. They were gone maybe 10 minutes before they came back up to the house to tell me they heard a noise in the woods. They weren't sure if it was a snake, a rabbit, or a person. I assured them that it probably wasn't a snake, they don't make much noise, or a person, a person probably would have spoken and a rabbit, squirrel or deer wouldn't hurt them. They went back out to play.
Almost half an hour later I hadn't seen them again. I was surprised that no one had heard a noise, gotten hot or hungry, or gotten into an argument so I stopped fixing dinner and walked out to check on them. As I started walking down the trail I could hear something moving through the woods to my left. It didn't run quickly away like rabbit or squirrel would have so I was thinking it might be a deer. I walked quietly in the hopes that I might see it and I figured if the girls were playing nicely they didn't need to know I was there. I was almost to the end of the home trail when I heard the girls talking-
T, "It's this way this is the trail home."
G, "How do you know?"
They turned up the trail, saw me, and came running.
G, "Mom we left the trail and we got lost and we couldn't figure out which trail led home.'
T, "I knew this was the right one, I heard you."
T, "I knew this was the right one, I heard you."
G, "Mom, where you calling us? I didn't hear you calling us."
T, "I didn't hear her calling with my ears I heard her calling with my heart. I said a prayer on the trail when we were lost and then I heard mom call me."
As soon an W got home he marked the home trail so hopefully no more getting lost. But I am glad T listens to her heart.
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