3.01.2009

picnics off the highway

we took an impromptu day trip just north of strawberry this past weekend to try and save us all from the droning lull that are our days as of late. the mid-80 degree weather we've been having fooled me into thinking we'd picnic under the pines and spend the late afternoon picking berries while hiking around some familiar old trails.
strawberry, az
there's still snow up north. lots of it. and every familiar road still closed.

we ended up on our tailgate picnic-ing off the side of the highway, hiked around on some black rock while spencer sunbathed and then very shortly after having just arrived, we headed back for home.
we hiked while spencer sunbathed
the drive in itself was therapeutic enough to make the whole trip worth it, though. there's something healing about traveling the same road with our boys that we've traveled a million times as children with our own parents.
there's still snow here
and maybe it was the smell of the approaching pines or the melancholic sound of the national playing through our car's speakers, but for a fleeting moment as we traveled north up the beeline highway, our little family in tow, everything around me felt full. like my throat was closing in on me just trying to hold it all in. all of the good, all of the bad.

that single moment saved the entire day for me.

6 comments:

Emily Ruth said...

"all of the good. all of the bad."
Amen.

chelsea :: stock said...

kays that was beautiful.

I love those moments. when I feel suddenly very aware of my life, all aspects. even if some of them are not all that great. I have been thinking even more about your little family these days. I am sending good vibes your way. I miss my family.

I really hope you are saving these somewhere. these words will be precious to your boys. wouldn't you love to hear such candid thoughts from your mother when her family was young?

Jen said...

Yay, I'm glad you took the advice of wise ol'e Jen :)
Sunny-Snow trips are the best :) I love the pics!!!!!

sarah said...

i've had very few of those throat-closing moments in my short little life, but they've always signaled something great, vast and perfect.

i'm glad you guys escaped north, even just for the drive. that highway has always been good things for me.

diana said...

great introspection and you wrote it out so well. i never could've explained that as perfectly as you did.

glad you found the sun in the snow.

brady lady said...

nicely said kayleen