The kids and I are out of town for the week. We're in my hometown visiting family while Tom is away on a work trip. It's quite the breath of fresh air for me to get away from the suburbs and have lots of open space for the kids to run and play. I've been thinking more about children and nature over the past year or so, as the kids get bigger, and especially as Silas has so much energy to expend. I think of how kids need more than an hour at the park, how they need to feel, experience, soak in the outdoors. How the benefits go beyond sunlight and vitamin D, that somehow the trees, dirt and green spaces are able to reach inside and provide some calming, settling balance. And it's not just about the kids, it's good for me too.
We talk about someday moving our family back here. I have hopes for a big garden and fruit trees. There's the appeal of space for the children to play and explore, rather than being fenced in. I try hard to examine the possibility objectively, and not fall into the trap of thinking the grass is a deeper shade of green. But I can't deny that my roots draw me, that a piece of me will always wish for home. Maybe someday.
