Welcome back! I have a new writing prompt with your name on it, fresh out of the oven:
What rejuvenates you?
For the Ninja Turtles, it is pizza. For Picard, it is tea (Earl Grey, hot). Personally, I like a good walk, preferably through the woods.
I recently took my four year old son for his first hike, and seeing the forest through his eyes was something special. Every trail marker was a gateway to a new adventure. Every mushroom was a unique specimen to be examined thoroughly. Every bit of gravel was a potential addition to his growing rock collection (until we learned that we leave the forest as we found it, at which point the gravel was simply admired).
Our favorite landmark was a small babbling brook that flowed under a sturdy wooden footbridge. My son stooped low and peered over the side of the bridge with excitement, immediately noticing a collection of bubbles that had gathered against a waterlogged branch. He sat quiet for a moment, listening to the rushing water, then asked, “Why does it make that sound?” I explained that unlike the still water of the marsh we had passed earlier, the brook made noise because the water was moving. The water bubbled as it swept over the stones. He reflected a moment and announced, “I like it.”
Me too buddy.
That evening, my son had a special request at bedtime. Instead of playing the usual white noise on his sound machine, he preferred to listen to the sounds of a babbling brook as he drifted off to sleep.
