A Walk in the Woods

I love the woods.  Perhaps being there reminds me of my childhood adventures in the woods behind our home.  Perhaps it's because being away from the bustle of man-made life brings a sense of closeness to God and the beauty of nature.  Whatever it is, it brings peace to my soul.  Yesterday, the kids and I decided to take a little hike.  They have come to enjoy hiking some easy trails near our home and it is one of my favorite activities with them.  We parked by our usual entrance at around 1:30 pm.  Instead of our customary trail, the boy insisted we try a new one.  A bit longer than the usual mile, we decided we were up for the challenge.  About midway through, it became apparent that it was more than a bit longer and quite more difficult than our tried and true trail.  We were all enjoying the challenge.  The girl got tired so we piggy backed it.  I was enjoying the extra weight she gave me and the burn in my muscles.  It was a gorgeous day...until it wasn't.  The trail suddenly ended about 2 miles in.  It connected to two other trails.  Which way to go?  We chose the trail we were familiar with, thinking the exit by our car about a quarter mile away.  Around this time, the girl began complaining that her legs couldn't hold on in the piggy back position any longer.  She walked a bit, but couldn't make it any further.  So, I picked her up in my arms.  Before I knew it, she was sound asleep on my shoulder.  So, with almost 40 lbs dead weight dangling from my front, the boy and I trudged along.  I'm not sure how far we went, but it soon became apparent the road was no where in sight.  The trail markers had disappeared.  We were on some sort of unmarked trail.  I don't know how it happened.  The boy began to panic.  My arms feeling like jello, we stopped to sit on the side of a lovely little bridge.  I needed to collect my thoughts.  As I was taking in the splendor around me, I noticed cars whizzing by in the distance through the trees.  Upon further examination, we found we were clear on the opposite side of the reserve from where we needed to be!  At least I now knew our location.  I made a call to my husband...not sure why.  I guess I was hoping for a suggestion.  I was so tired!  I wanted to believe the GPS on my phone would lead me to my car, but of course the trails were not on the map.  If we stuck to the outside of the reserve, it would be about 3.5 miles back to the car.  I just didn't think we could make it.  In a moment of desperation, I tried to walk through the woods, off the trail.  We were directly across from our car.  I thought if I followed the GPS, it would lead us straight there.  In a moments time, my foot was in a hole up to my ankle.  It was then that I realized this was a very dumb thing to do.  So, back to the trail we went.  We trudged our way another couple of miles, all the while a sleeping preschooler draped down my torso.  The boy was crying; he stopped at one point and said he couldn't go on.  He wanted me to call 911.  I explained to him that we couldn't call them just because we were tired.  "Being tired is not an emergency", I said.  We weren't lost.  We were just exhausted.  I coaxed him along as best I could.  I made him laugh.  When that didn't work, I gave him inspirational speeches.  When that stopped working, I yelled.  Not my best moment as a mother, but it got us through the woods!  The girl finally woke up and walked for a bit.  I'm not sure how far we walked, but at 4:30pm, we finally saw the road!  It was a moment of sheer bliss!  I stopped to tie my shoe.  At that very moment, the boy threw down his walking stick, figuring he didn't need it any more.  I felt something stab my arm.  "I think something just stung me", I said.  The boy started to scream the most desperately frightened scream I have ever laid ears on!  His scream frightened the girl, who in turn started screaming.  Suddenly, there were buzzing things swarming all around.  They were stinging my kids!!!!  They both took off running to the road faster than their little legs should be able to go, screaming like maniacs, arms waving in the air!  When we got to the road, we had to walk about a quarter mile to the car.  The boy just kept screaming.  The girl wanted to know why the bugs were stinging us.  She was so confused.  My arm was throbbing, but the girl couldn't walk.  I held her once again, while the boy kept screaming.  I could not think over his noise.  I tried to comfort him.  I tried to hug him.  I calmly encouraged him to stop.  It was like he couldn't even see me.  I finally bellowed at the top of my voice, "STOP SCREAMING!!!!!"  He stopped...stunned.  We made it to the car, the boy sobbing quietly the entire way.  My arm was swollen and throbbing.  I was feeling dizzy, but couldn't decide if it was from sheer fatigue or the sting.  One trip to the emergency room later and life is back to normal.  The kids say they never want to go to the woods again.  I, on the other hand, still view the woods as a place of beauty but realize now I should always have a trail map when going for a hike and will try my best to keep away from wasps nests.