on not knowing (just wandering)

As we headed to our neighborhood lake, we stayed open to what might happen. 

No expectations. 

Just time to wander and wonder. 

That means when my son is climbing a tree, I stand in the sun, uncomfortable, not hurrying him. I believe in this - but it takes much effort on my part, because I am impatient by nature. 

When I can do this: wait, slow down, not impose my rushed internal engine on everyone else, a space opens. 

In this expansive space, the possibilities are countless and some are even magical. 

We ended up at our secret spot, which Ollie decided to rename, "The Lagoon." We spend the next hour poking at the higher-than-usual water level and making a boat out of found materials.  

A boat from sticks, moss, grass and feathers to sail away and adventure the wilds of the lake. 

We talked about everything while our hands were busy: buoyancy, sails, photography and how it might feel to see through the eyes of a duck.

Then the boat sank (they do that). And we had to go to the bathroom. So we left the Lagoon, and headed off. 

We snuck our little dog into the public library bathroom, took long cold drinks from the water fountain and wandered towards home, checking out the yards on College Ave. We noted the slow progress on the new Frank Lloyd Wright visitor's center and then found our selves on the college campus getting sprayed by the fountain in the wind.

My daughter did some mad dessert math and told me every combination of ways I could spend the $10 I brought on a treat at the little campus cafe. We settled on the patio sharing big slices of tart lemon pound cake and watched the intriguing world of young college students. 

We had an odd conversation with a "special" guy about dog breeds. He warned us that the government had just put Chiahuahua's on the same list as Pit Bulls and that they could come in and take our dog at anytime!! Thankfully, my kids spent a week at the SPCA camp this summer and have well formed opinions on Pit Bulls and the nature of different breeds. We talked about the encounter the whole way home.