Little Adventures

Today I felt pretty adventurous. I decided to take Solo and Shad on a little hike by myself just a few minutes from our house. This wouldn't be such a big deal except that Solo is terrible off-leash and I don't trust him. I don't mind going with Dan because I figure if we lose the dog then, he can be in charge of catching him. And honestly, what is the point of taking your dog hiking if you are going to make him stay on a leash, right? I decided this day though, that if Solo took off, there wouldn't be much I could do alone with a two-year-old and hopefully he wouldn't get hit by a car on the busy road or get dog-napped. . . we needed to get out of the house that badly. I also decided to take Shad's bike, this is his new favorite way to go on a hike, mountain-biking. He loves it and it actually motivates him to go a little faster so we can take a bit more normal pace as opposed to two-year-old hiking pace. Incredibly Shad and Solo were both perfect and we all enjoyed our time outside enjoying the pretty scenery and the solitude just a two minutes drive from our front door. I was so pleased with myself for just going for it and when a soft-serve ice cream cone came to mind, I figured I would take Shad to get a cone for the first time. I am plenty aware this is not his first ice-cream-cone, but it is the first time I have taken him to get one. The fact he kept saying ice-cream and was very excited proved the fact he had done this before. I made the terrible discovery that I didn't have my wallet, but luckily you only need just over a dollar to get two fifty cent cones, and I found the change in the car between the time I ordered and was suppose to pay. It was such a fun little adventure for us and reminded me of the rare times my mom would take us for a treat like that. I never had a happy meal as a kid but I remember stopping at A&W for lunch when we had to take Dustin to some classes out in Monmouth. Also, when we got older and would get fast food on car trips or after shopping etc my Mom was willing to go to three different fast food places just to make sure we all got what we wanted. She was a firm believer in home-cooked meals, but when she decided to splurge she made sure we were all happy. I was happily enjoying my ice cream and reminiscing when I reached for my phone to call and tell my mom how much I loved Flagstaff and where we live. It was a bitter dose of reality when I caught myself just before dialing, but in a way I was glad to realize I had been in a good enough mood to have just wanted to chat with Mom. It was a reminder that despite the heartache and loneliness of wishing they were still here, we can still enjoy the littlest things in life and they can also help me remember them. Thinking about those little things my parents enjoyed reminded me of so many other things that will always make me think of them, vanilla ice-cream, Dots, Mountain Man Candy, Yogurt covered raisins, air-popped popcorn and the list goes on and on. I was grateful for a fun afternoon with my son and dog and the little reminder that my parents are an enormous part of who I am and I don't need to worry that I will forget them, they live in me.