North Wood Magic

A merry band of four adventurers sits by a small fire behind a treed knoll.  They drink from their flasks and fill themselves with dry biscuits.  The sun is peeking through the leaves of the large oak that protects them from the evil forces around them.

There is a sudden neigh of alarm from a beautiful grey dappled steed who was grazing quietly beside the group.  In a flash, the youngest of the group grabs her bow and arrows, mounts her steed, holding tight by the black and silver mane, and calls to her friends "I will lead the ogre away while you prepare for the fight". With a leap, her horse is on its way flying like the wind across the dry field.

The girl's plan is a success!  The ogre lumbers after her, its 10 eyes bulging, 10 feet of green, hairless, scaley beast on the hunt, its tree trunks of arms swinging to and fro.  At the edge of the field she stops her horse and looks back, seeing that her three companions are ready with spears and clubs, chasing swiftly after the ogre, their silver armour flashing in the sunlight.

As a team they join the ogre in battle, sparring, lunging, feinting, piercing.  It bellows in a rage and swipes at the young warriors, but misses and finally lumbers off, defeated for now.

Breathing hard, the young companions stop at one of their hideouts to replenish their supplies and rest. This wood is theirs - they know every tree and shrub, every cave and snug alcove. They have caches of weapons, of crafting supplies, of armour, of food.  They are prepared for anything. When they aren't fighting off the ogres that venture into their territory they rest and plan future battles, swing in the trees, swim in the pond and gather berries.

So is this an excerpt of a new adventure novel?  Nope. This is a glimpse into the imaginations of my four kids.

I always wanted us to build them a proper tree house - they have a play structure in the backyard which has a little raised platform that is suitable, but I always dreamed of an actual tree house.  I wanted a place where my kids had their own space, and a chance to let their imaginations soar.

Well, this summer they invented the North Wood.  This was their special place in the back part of our property, in amongst the trees and long grasses and (ahem) weeds. They used stumps as tables, rocks as benches, they stashed supplies in a hollow log, used a low hanging branch as their lookout.  They built bows and arrows out of branches, twine and feathers. They carved weapons, made up a constitution for their land and gave themselves each roles and names.  In short, they did what I always dreamed for them - they turned our back yard into their own magical land.

I have to write this down because I think this is magical. And I think my kids are in the middle of a magical time - the oldest is young enough to let his imagination go and have fun with his siblings, the youngest is old enough to really contribute to the games and ideas.  These are the golden years of their childhood and I hope they cherish their memories as much as I will cherish the memories of watching them run and play through the backyard, tiptoe through the tall grasses at the back of the property, climb onto the big tree branch as a lookout, come in and ask for containers to pick the wild black raspberries, take picnics outside to eat - not in our backyard - but in the magical land of the North Wood.

Thomas

Some milestones are big events.  Marked on the calendar, anticipated, photographed and remembered.

Others just kind of quietly happen, sliding under the radar and are hardly noticed.

Like today, as I'm organizing and cleaning my 7 year old's room I realize its been months since those wooden trains were touched.  Time to pack them away and store them for another day.  And then it hits me... those trains have been in use for over a decade by one kid or another of mine.  I remember a toddler's chubby little hand carrying "Henry" the green engine everywhere he went; who shed round, wet tears at the sight of the locked veterinary office where Henry was forgotten and who beamed with great delight the next morning when that green train with the lopsided smile was waiting for him patiently on the receptionists counter.  I remember long and involved train track making escapades, under and around the kitchen table, across the linoleum until the track ran out.  And just as long and involved conversations between trains and children as adventures were spun out of wood and imagination on rainy afternoons.

So, now those trains and train tracks are packed up and ready for storage.  And I can't believe I'm actually thinking about future grandchildren as I pack those trains away - one toy that can't go to a friend or consignment sale, one toy that will sit and wait until the day one of my children brings their child over to Grandma's to play and a new generation of chubby little hands and creative little spirits build train tracks and spin stories on my kitchen floor.

Five year old Dreams

I had a rare Mother-daughter lunch date today.  The boys were all busy at friends' houses, so my daughter and I enjoyed a little lunch at a local cafe.  We had a great conversation and I just have to write down some of the highlights.  It was really cool to get a window into her thoughts and dreams.

First off, she told me, Daddy and I would have to move out of our house.  We could still live in Canada, infact, it would be best if we could be neighbours, but we couldn't live in our house, because she would need to live there with her husband and 6 children.  She planned to have 2 sets of triplets; she would have triple bunk beds, 3 in one room, 3 in the other, 1 guest room and then a room for her and her husband.  Well planned, my dear, well planned!

She then asked me why I only had four kids.  (I dunno, seemed like alot to me...)  No, she most definitely wanted six, four would simply not be enough.

Next she suggested that I might want to babysit her six kids for her while she went to work as a baker or a fancy coffee maker.  She thought she might like to own a cafe just like the one we were in and when she was working there I could bring the six kids in and she would make them all hot chocolate with whip cream and chocolate shavings.  (the very drink she was drinking as she spoke)

Quick aside here - I have to say, I was so happy to hear her talking about a) wanting lots of kids and b) going to work.  I sometimes wonder if my choice to stay home with the kids affects her vision of what she can do with her life, but as she spoke I realized she really does feel like the world is wide open to her.

So once we had her living arrangement, family and work settled she continued on.  Daddy and I would HAVE to live next door and her kids could go for sleep overs at our house.  And if we wanted, we could come for a sleep over too.  Especially because she'd have a guest room for us.

I asked her again what she thought she wanted to be - and she repeated the baker or fancy coffee maker. But then she paused and added, but I could also be a Firefighter, a police officer, or maybe a doctor.  (the world really is her oyster)

Her future is wide open and I can't wait to see which roads she ends up travelling - although I'll secretly hope that the roads she travels make regular stops back at the ol' homestead.  And I'll even babysit her two sets of triplets without complaint in return.