Eric is sitting naked on the potty, giving himself a sponge bath out of a saucepan. But don’t worry: he’s not using the toilet; it just makes for a good stool. (I have been waiting AGES to use that one! I can hear Momma H giving her sarcastic HA. HA. all the way from Minnesota.)

And so our exploration into the world of bathing continues! I must say, too may nurse and soldier scenes in WWII flicks have led me to believe a sponge bath was a far more romantic, intimate experience. (THANKS, Hollywood.) Working with our particular set of spatial constraints, however, kneeling on all fours so Eric can soap my back, it felt like a rather confused, comic version of washing the family dog. We don’t ordinarily bathe in our cookware, but as the 70th car to enter the campsite (no joke) our options were rather limited following our sweaty hike in the woods.

But OH, the hike! It was lovely enough to warrant the most awkward of bathing conditions! I felt more like a nymph in a fairytale forest than a sweaty American in pigtails, laced into a pair of electric blue Adidas. A clear sign of my level of enchantment can be based upon my greeting to fellow hikers. My hellos this afternoon were as sweet as they were sincere as the trail wound deeper into a denser wood.

Spanish moss hung from above in lazy ribbons like the limp wrist of a elegant woman with a cigarette. Ancient trees spread their roots across our path, giant sized piano keys creeping across the forest floor. The late afternoon sun skimmed the very tips of the treetops as we leapt from boulders strewn by streams, to narrow dirt pathways decorated with pale blossoms, newly fallen. To the left and right, banks covered in soft moss, lush as birthday cake frosting, looking on in approval. We were creatures of that enchanted moment, of that enthralling place.

-K

^ Our reward at the end of our dazzling traipse through the forest: Lake Marian. She’s a jewel, with clear glacial water bordered on all sides by protective peaks, dusted with snow. It was also the perfect opportunity to meditate on what a beautiful family I’ve been blessed with, thinking on both Grandma Marian and Grandma Luana, and the special children they both raised. Love you, Momma and Poppa H! :*