Dear Mom,
It’s apt that Mother’s Day falls in May. You — as does every Minnesotan — love spring. Each year, as early as mother nature would allow, you'd take us on a crocus walk to celebrate successfully dodging frostbite, head out on springtime hikes to forest bathe in carpets of bloodroot, trillium and lilies of the valley, and tromp through marshlands in search of skunk cabbage.
After spring, summer — where we paddled and swam in lakes and rivers near and far, revisited our favorite trails, and sought out new ones as we bombed across the country on epic road trips with a grocery-getter full of sun-dappled kids. You gardened and we feigned disinterest, but now follow in your native-planted footsteps.
After summer, fall — where we celebrated the changing of the seasons with ridgetop hikes, reveling in the fall colors, leaves crunching underfoot. And even winter — where we constructed elaborate snow forts, bundled up for trips to see convocations of eagles along the Mississippi river, and huffed and puffed through the snowy quiet on cross-country skis.
Your love of nature was, and is, infectious, and I know you’re glad to see it seeping into the next generation. After your last visit, Paddy and Rosie have been on a constant hunt for worms — no log goes unturned in hopes of unearthing another red backed salamander, and they insist at howling at the moon before bed.
You were an O.G., a trendsetter — connecting kids to nature before there was a movement. Before the cottage industry sprang up telling us to get outside, you were already at the cottage. You made it fun, you encouraged us to explore, to poke around, to stop and listen to the birds, and taught us to always, always go back in for one more swim…'cause while the days may be long, the summer is short.
In your honor, we’ll be heading outside this weekend to see what’s blooming, listening for the call of the wood thrush, and who knows, we may even turn over a few logs.
Thanks Mom for nurturing our love of nature. Hope you have a great Mother’s Day hike — here’s to having our knees under the same table, and our feet on the same trail!
Love,
.png){kind=logo}
