Yesterday, I ran across the field to spend time with my youngest daughter’s four children while she and her hubby ran to extract her wisdom teeth. Young Jake and I were riding bikes, up and down their driveway, giving pause now and again to visit the chickens, ducks, and horses. Truth is, I was taking advantage of the ” pausing” since I haven’t ridden a bike in too many years to count. lol.
After we parked the bikes inside the garage, Young Jake said, “Omie, come here. I want to show you something. (Omie is German for grandma). I hesitated for a moment and explained that we should get a drink of water first. He was walking towards their woods and still urged me to follow.
“Jake, honey, I don’t want to walk through the woods now; maybe later. I can see the path you have made from here. It’s neat.” I replied.
“No, Omie, it’s not that; Just follow me, I want to show you something. Jake kept his demeanor perfectly casual, with no change in his voice that would try and entice me to keep moving in his direction. He didn’t try to convince me or entice me. He walked a few steps and stood there to see if I was following him. Finally, I decided to follow the boy and see what he had to show me, as he seemed pretty intent on the matter.
WHAT A SHOCK AND A TOTAL BLESSING for me, as I rounded the corner to see this. His little primitive hut blew me away. I almost screamed with excitement.
“My Goodness, Jake, this is so awesome. I love it. Did Daddy help you make it? He told me no, that he and his older brother Logan, who is 11, made it. There are no nails, or screws in this structure, no string to hold it all together. I couldn’t believe the imagination, determination, and creativity it took for two small boys to make their fort from what they found lying on the ground.
For many years, these boys have spent time here at our farm, and I subscribed to an app on the tv called Adventure Agents. All the grandchildren enjoyed the shows, where a Dad and his children are always out in the woods discovering and building without causing harm to the environment. And I have bought several Wilderness Books for them; apparently, they have flipped through the pages and put all that knowledge to work.
What a gift to me. I am so thankful I continued following him. I would have missed something this special, rare, and unique. I share it on my blog site today, in the hopes that one day, the little hut has fallen apart and lays again on the woodland floor, they will see this post and “REMEMBER WHEN” they built such a cool fort and the day the Jake shared it with me. I am still in awe of the precious little building and feel deeply touched that Jake wanted to share it with me.
July 2023
