For the Love of Nature

"In all things in nature, there is something of the marvelous." - Aristotle

We left home last Thursday headed for New York's Hudson Valley. As we pulled out of our parking space, Ted realized he had left his extra shoes inside the house. So, we pulled around front and parked the car momentarily on the street. Ted ran inside. He emerged minutes later, carrying not only the forgotten shoes, but a large, fuzzy orange caterpillar. He found the caterpillar crawling in the entryway to our house. (Mother Nature is no stranger to the city.) Back in the car, he handed the caterpillar to Elliot. Normally our most social and vocal child, Elliot spent the next few hours ensconced in his own world, holding and playing with the caterpillar. (He only dropped it a a few times, and only once lost it down the leg of his shorts.) Neither Ted nor I could get over the entertainment value of the caterpillar. We encountered terrible traffic on the Mass Pike, so decided to get off. Our detour took us, quite unexpectedly, to Purgatory Chasm, where we had a picnic lunch and played outside. While at the playground there, Elliot happened upon two more caterpillars, this time smaller green and black ones. He added them to the cup he was carrying his first one in. Moments later, the fuzzy orange caterpillar attacked one of the smaller ones, fatally wounding it. Elliot was angry at his former pet. He labelled the orange caterpillar "mean" and decided not keep him any longer. He held on to the surviving green and black caterpillar, who made it with us all the way to the Residence Inn Poughkeepsie.

About 2 years ago I read the Omnivore's Dilemna, immediately followed by Animal Vegetable, Miracle. These were truly books that changed my life. I couldn't stop talking about them. After hearing me, my sister-in-law lent me a book she had read called Last Child in the Woods. While I can't say that I loved it as much as the first two, it definitely had a profound impact on my parenting. I have always found peace and beauty in nature, especially alone. I certinaly hope that my four boys will grow up feeling a similar close bond with nature. But, the book made me realize that this bond will not cultivate itself. I need to create and provide opportunities for my children to fall in love with nature, if I want them to grow up loving nature as I do. This awakening has changed the way I think about our time outdoors.

On Friday, we woke up in Poughkeepsie and drove to the Vanderbilt Mansion. It is a beautiful and lavishly impressive home that is certainly worth a visit. Most people stop by for an hour or so, take the tour of the home, perhaps walk around the gardens, then get back in their cars to head to another destination. We spent the entire day there. Jack and Elliot played wiffle ball with Ted in the grass. Mattie rode his bike along the sidewalks. Theo lounged in the grass, holding toys and looking up at the trees. We followed the path of the river that winds through the estate. (Only one park ranger stopped to make sure our children, who were playing along the river bank on a steep embankment, were being "adequately supervised.") We took a hike on the Hyde Park Trail. The boys played inside the thick branches of a pine tree, discovering a dark, cool, hideaway inside. We found the old carriage house, saw the Hudson River, and looked for bugs. To some people, it might seem like we wasted a lot of our time in Hyde Park, spending an entire day at the Vanderbilt Mansion. After all, there are many other homes and things to see in the area. But, I've started to see our time spent in nature as a destination in and of itself. Even when they're "doing nothing," the kids are getting something. Ted and I were able to relax and enjoy the outdoors ourselves, something we are rarely able to do. The estate provided the perfect outdoor playground for the kids. There were few people, even fewer cars, and lots of land. Their imaginations reigned as they discovered each area they explored. They could stray farther away from us than they ever can in the city. Hopefully, they had some of those special, private moments in nature that forge the life long bond we hope they'll have. For us, it was the perfect vacation spot, and another perfect day outdoors.