Making Most Of The Time

Walking the trail at Silver Falls, overhearing conversations between members of my family: a sister and her brother in front of me, and a mother and her son behind me, I was thinking, “this is how to make the most of our time.”

For two entire days this weekend, our whole family was together. T-Bone came home from college, and G flew in from Mississippi. Time flew. Just as abruptly as we all had come together, it's a memory. T-Bone's already in Colorado now, and G will leave in a few days. Months of being apart behind us, months of being apart ahead of us, this was our little teeny little island of being together as a family. And that's precisely why making most of the time was so critical.

Among the highlights of our weekend: a hike. Time in a forest is good for the soul. For all of our souls. So off we went. Silver Falls State Park is close to home, and a great place for scenery and walking together. We were replenished during our afternoon walk in the forest.

Seems like we always have rain on Memorial Day weekend in Oregon, so nothing new there. We did happen to miss getting rained on during our walk, but not by much. We shared the trail with many families and large groups of folks, who were also enjoying a cool, damp day in the forest, even with muddy trails and big puddles to cross.

The Trail of Ten Falls is a feast for the eyes. Along the way from one set of falls to the next, there are so many other things to see and appreciate. 

Overhearing the chatter along the trail, the laughter and conversations, I was so grateful for these woods, a place set apart from wi-fi and ringing cell phones. Even for just a little while. It was just us, in the forest, together. 

Of course I’d like more time for us all to be in one place at the same time, but honestly, this was great just the way it was.