Some days I get to thinking. Nostalgia comes into the forefront of my mind and I’m whisked away to a different time.
I grew up off a gravel road out in the country on a small horse farm. During the summers, I remember waking up and heading outside first thing, eager to get the day started. I would hop on my 10 speed Schwinn and pedal up the road to my friend’s house. Together, we would ride the gravel roads, skip rocks in the pond, play in the dirt, catch fireflies, or whatever else would keep us entertained for the day.
Hours, we would spend outside. No cell phones in our pockets. No need to rush home. No one worried about you, because there was just no reason to be back then. Sun up to sun down was spend outside playing.
There are days where I wish that for my children so much so that it makes my heart hurt. I know that times have changed so much that my kids will never get the luxury of being out from under my thumb, my kids will have to check in with Mom so much that it will be a bother, and they will have to be back home before sun down. That’s just the reality of the world that we’ve come to live in.
This weekend, however, I felt like we got a chance to give Olivia just a small taste of the kind of country life that we know we want for our children.
On Sunday, after O woke up from her nap, there wasn’t much left of our day but it was gorgeous and we knew we had to take advantage of it somehow. The Hubbs had a great idea to take O to a creek.
We drove up to Hartsburg and through the super-cute town, down a gravel road, until we found the perfect spot to play.
Just off Jemerson Creek Rd is a creek (I assume it’s called Jemerson Creek??) that was perfect for a Sunday afternoon play day.
The water was much too chilly for my liking but it didn’t seem to bother O in the least.
Of course, that didn’t stop me from getting in to play with my little girl.
Aaaaahhhh. Gettin’ ’em wet.
Olivia definitely had a blast. For that short while of the afternoon, I felt like she got to experience a little of what my childhood was like. Finding joy in the outdoors and freedom in the country.
This little creek has several great spots to stop at just off the gravel road.
Tell me, do you have any favorite little swimming holes?
Pan, The Gravel-Roadin’ Guru
6 Comments
Making memories with O is so precious
MOM! Welcome:) Yes, making memories with O are the best!
How I loved the days of the bike rides and playing in the creek. I’m glad I live in a subdivision now where Zach can go from house to house like we did as kids and be outside for hours at a time. Makes me smile when he comes in gets his rubber boots and says I’ll be back. I know to put a clean pair of clothes in the mud room for him when he decides to come in. We now do outdoor neighborhood movie nights with our projector and giant screen and have everyone bring blankets and chairs to enjoy the outdoors. Build a nice fire in the firepit and just enjoy being outside 🙂
Oh those were the days! Remember we used to stay outside from morning until dark? Nobody worried about us. We played in that creek all the time! I’m glad Zach lives in a place he can enjoy all those great things too:)
And the summer long tent camping in the backyard 🙂 growing up on a gravel road was the best. Would never change that for big city living!
No doubt! We’re getting ready to start working on our house (we bought 8 acres last year) out in the country and I couldn’t be more excited.