Fiery Gizzard

A few months ago, I took the kids on a walk in Shelby Park here in Nashville, where there is a paved 'nature trail' along the river. It was like a brick hit me in the head when Finley asked me if we were going through 'the deep, dark forest.' Good grief, I thought. I can't let them grow up thinking this is a forest. So yesterday, we went on our first real family hike in the South Cumberland area of Tennessee.

I had forgotten why I liked Tennessee so much after I moved here ten years ago, and yesterday I remembered why.

Hikes are different experiences with small children, though. In the days of my youth, we used to take our shoes off and run the trails, take a dive into the swimming holes, and free climb any available rock faces. Yesterday, we walked at a snail's pace so that Finley wouldn't fall behind and exercised extreme caution when it came to rocks, drop-offs, and poison ivy. We hardly let Joe out of the backpack. He was a fall waiting to happen. Finley slipped on a rock and fell into a section of creek. We must not let her get dirty often enough, because she wanted to change clothes immediately, and I had to 'talk her down.' And she kept asking me where we were going.

Here's hoping it's not another three years before we see a real trail again.