My husband and I walk the trails in our woods often. They are smoothed by our footsteps and the rain. 

Last night I wasn’t feeling like making the trek. I was tired, but happy from volunteering at the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. I felt extremely overwhelmed by the number of emails and requests that had piled up from co-workers while I was out adding two cans of corn to 900 boxes in a long assembly line of volunteers who added corn flakes, fruit cocktail, grits, and other foods to each box.

 Ben encouraged me to go in his oh so playful manner.

“We are all waiting for you.” 

And they all were.

Merlin the cat stood by our flower garden rubbing his head against the gate. Charlie the dog, tail wagging, paced back and forth amongst the buttercups. Miss Mira dog  with her masked eyes stared directly at me from the top of the hill beyond the poplar trees at the head of the trail into the woods.

“Oh alright.” I huffed.

As I stepped into the woods the tiredness melted away. The dogs bounded ahead happily. Mr. Merle carefully followed us jumping on fallen logs and walking their length to avoid the rustle of the leaves.

Ben and I noted new growth from the past day’s rain and pointed out velvety mushrooms along the way.

When we reached the river, the sounds of the water flowing across the rocks and the splashes of the dogs playing filled my mind versus the anxieties of my job.

I then saw the mountain laurel in full bloom and my heart felt full. This was exactly where I needed to be – amongst the delicate flowers and my beautiful family. I pulled in the deep musty smells of the earth and smiled. 

To be in love and loved by someone who knows how much the natural world replenishes my soul is such a gift. I sat in the old lawn chair we keep at the river’s edge as Merle purred on my lap. I pulled in grateful feelings for the man beside me, the mountain laurel blossoms sprinkling the forest floor, and the sunlight softly slicing through the trees.