Inside Jokes

Last night I asked Alyvia if she wanted to go for a special time away with me and she immediately exclaimed "Yes"! When I told her I wanted to take her for a sunset hike up Sawnee Mountain she then said "Oh, actually I'm going to stay with mom". I'd be lying if I said I completely understood as I really wanted to take her.  With mild disappointment I started to tuck in the rest of the gang one by one. For some of the kids, one in particular, it was a serious fight to keep them in their room and the tantrum was memorable...

After I got them all to sleep I came back downstairs and Alyvia said "Dad, I'm ready to go. Meet me upstairs". A bit frazzled from the bedtime havoc I slowly processed her change of heart, grabbed my belongings and jumped in the car. By this point it was 8:11pm and I knew the sun was due to set at 8:46pm so we raced in our giant rental car to the base of the Sawnee Mountain Preserve. 

Once we arrived we filled our water bottle with haste and set off toward the top. We were moving at a pretty incredible pace for an eight year old, even passing a few couples along the way. When we rounded the last switchback about 600 feet from the cliff I heard someone yelling it's about to set and I glanced at my phone to check the time. It was 8:45pm and I yelled "Alyvia, run we're going to miss it"! We took off and sprinted the last six hundred feet to catch one of the most incredible sunsets I've ever seen. The sun was ruby red against a pink and purple sky and it was quickly slipping over the top of the blue ridge mountains in the background. Within seconds of being at the top it vanished beneath the horizon. We panted at the top and enjoyed the splendor of the painting (I did most of the panting). We had the best conversation about the painter and his undeniable faithfulness to provide day in and day out. We were truly amazed by the variations in the sky and we climbed and descended alongside the steep mountain drop off to catch different vantage points. Alyvia was so mesmerized she wanted to see as much as possible and every direction. 

She was also incredibly fearless walking toward the edge on the boulders and scaling down rock walls to get a different view. I was proud of her sense of adventure but also incredibly nervous as she scooted out to the edge to let her feet dangle whenever possible. At one point she said "Dad, you're kind of acting like a scaredy cat. I'm not going to fall or anything". I smiled back at her and told her I trust her but also insisted that she hold my hand...

I realized the immense value of our time together and how much I would treasure this memory. Once it was almost completely dark and there was only one small group left at the top we decided to start the decent. We wandered the trails playing different games and laughing uncontrollably. She taught me how to play one game called true or false which is apparently the same thing as one truth and a lie. I thought it was a great time to tell stories about me and Thiele that she may not know and be creative in the false responses. It was amazing for me to hear her stories and her sense of creativity and to laugh hysterically while we wandered through the dark without a flashlight. Our eyes adjusted and our hearts were delighted. It was truly a time where inside jokes are made and I'm so thankful for that. 

On the way home we sang songs and laughed some more before we arrived home. I hope that she took as much from our time as I did. I was reminded of the value in relationships, the value of adventure and the restoration that laughter brings. I was reminded that a grand a glorious story is being written and the painter is involved in all the little details. It was a night for the books!