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You're a cool Grandma!" Damion was sleeping over and
anticipating an early morning hike with me, his Grandma.
At 7 1/2 years old, this was his first official hike ever.
Auntie Sheryl had fixed him up with a bladder backpack and
bug net. Auntie Kris had given him his first ever Swiss
army knife. He was showing me how it had tweezers, a
toothpick, a bottle opener and a tiny knife. He was given
this precious tool with the stern warning that if he were
not 'responsible' it would be taken away. As he was
showing it off to me and Pepere, he told me that I was a
'cool' Grandma. Now, I'd never thought much about that
before, but those words were like music to my soul. How
could they not be? It was better than hearing "I love
you Grandma" because "love" is almost an
automatic word to a youngster, in the category of 'please'
and 'thank you', but to be called 'cool' was meaningful to
him. When I asked him why he thought I was cool, he said,
"Because you like bugs and hiking and guy
things!" I gave him a big hug!
 Early
Saturday morning, he woke up very quickly, eager to begin.
We got our gear ready, our snacks ready, had a light
breakfast. Pepere had filled our water bladders the night
before and they were sitting in the refrigerator. Damion
asked if we had good water like Auntie Kris. I assured him
we did as it came from the grocery store and was filtered
just like hers. He'd never used a bladder pack before and
enjoyed biting and sucking the end to get water. I showed
him how to use a compass and told him he could be the
keeper of the compass on this hike. I put it around his
neck. We put our hats on, packs on and started walking
down our street to the woods.
We chatted about the hike ahead of us. I told him about
the Deering family and the burned foundation we would see.
He was very interested in this history and how the family
gave all the land to the town of Millbury to be protected.
We reached the woods.
I sprayed us for bugs, showed him how the compass
pointed to NE and we headed in. I knew the perspective on
this now familiar trail would be different this morning.
Looking at it from a young boy's eyes would be
interesting. I didn't expect a fast workout. One other
thing Auntie Kris had given him was a set of plastic
guides to identify animal paw prints. They were on a chain
and attached to his pack. Damion's eyes were keenly on the
path ahead of us searching for animal tracks. We did find
several different kinds of paw prints along the trail. One
was definitely small deer tracks.
He was interested in the many kinds of mushrooms too.
And holes in the ground made by animals. Having my ever
ready camera with me, we got to document lots of things he
found interesting. He was so well behaved, yet curious
about everything. He knew this was an important phase in
his life and he respected me as the adult in the
situation. HE was so cool!
As we walked, I kept reminding him to drink his water
and how important it was to keep hydrated. I usually keep
my bug net on and just lift the front to see better when
it's not quite so buggy. He used the net, but since he
couldn't see as well we decided he could just put bug
spray on his face. I sprayed it on his hands and he rubbed
his face with it. He found many reasons to take out his
Swiss army knife. Mushrooms cut up easy..
 He
enjoyed the stone walks, loved the moss tree. In fact, he
had to do the balancing act on the tree. I showed him how
the trail was marked and let him lead the way. When we
came out to the meadow he quickly wanted to explore it.
Off came his pack and gear and he left the trail after
getting my permission. He really wanted to find a snake. I
snapped off some nice pictures of my handsome little guy
in this beautiful setting.
We reached a fork in the path. He said he could hear
water. I told him that there was a nice brook ahead and we
could go and see it if he liked. We headed for the place I
had taken the awesome picture the week before. It had just
poured out and the brooks and streams were overflowing.
The setting now was very disappointing. I explained how
nice it was the week before. He said, "Grandma, do
you keep picture books?" I told him I did. He said,
"take one now and you can show before and
after". I thought, what a very grown up thing to say.
He has a way of speaking so like an adult at times.
 We
continued on to the Deering Estate. He was truly
fascinated with the buildings. Every time I go there I see
more aspects of the estate. There is a shed attached to
the 3 bay garage that has a lot of stuff in it. We went
in. Dark and spooky, we carefully wandered around, letting
our eyes adjust from the bright sunlight. There were lots
of unopened newspapers scattered on the floor. Looking at
them I realized they were from 1977, the year his mother
was born! We took 4 of them and put them in our sacks. He
asked to leave the shed. I think he was just a little
spooked in there. Truth be told, so was I. We moved on. He
sat on the big stone steps of the house itself. I got my
best picture of the day right there. He had the very best
smile and looked so very handsome sitting there.
He also found two other treasures, shotgun shells.
Later his uncle showed him they were two different kinds,
one was for buck shot for birds and another was for bigger
animals, probably deer.
 It
was time to head back. We explored the estate again, going
into the shed once more. This time he wandered more deeply
in. He wasn't spooked anymore. We talked about what that
might be and what that might be. There was a Hershey's
cardboard milk box that he remarked about. We eventually
said goodbye to the place and took another break in the
meadow. He has always had such a fascination with bugs and
snakes and nature.
I could tell he was getting tired so I pushed us on.
The last 2 miles we hiked pretty steadily. I kept showing
him the markers to indicate we had reached a trail closer
to home. We talked about the compass and how the trail now
pointed to SW or home. "Can we hike again soon
Grandma? Can I come over when it's not my Dad's weekend
and hike with you?" I assured him we would plan more
hikes and that he was going to go on a hike with his mom
and me very soon to New Hampshire and sleep in tents! Oh,
how easy it was to make this child happy today..and this
Grandma!
Coming out of the woods 3 hours after we had gone in,
we saw Lennie across the street. We had to go over and say
hello. Lennie is the perfect grandfather type and Damion
had to show him his knife and tell him all about his hike
with Grandma! It was a very 'cool' morning! One I will
never forget nor, I hope, will he.
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