We set off on a long drive to visit family this AM, and made the decision to take the road less traveled, and make the drive just a wee bit longer.  The lils were excited, Willy was excited, and I had coffee.  We headed out. 

As we drove in the beautiful sunlight, we noted what a great day it was to take this drive.  There were few cars on the road, and the scenery is pretty stunning.  Quick stops were a breeze and both lils liked the new route. It was a good choice for a lazy Monday drive. 

We’ve started doing picnic lunches on long drives where ever possible. The trick is to find the right park that is safe, but entertaining for the lils, but also lets willy and I chill for a bit. Luckily, there is an app for finding parks. Sadly it failed us today.

We pulled into the town we were near at lunch time and prepared to drive around. We were in luck, spotting both the local coffee shop and community park within seconds of hitting town. The park was crowded with a school picnic, but it dispersed seconds after we pulled in so we stayed and had a nice lunch and run around. 

I pulled out my camera to take a few pictures before we left, and noticed that there was a little bird’s nest tucked in the rafters of the shelter for the picnic tables. I stood on the tables to take this picture, much to the amusement of the lils. They soon joined me on the table, and stayed there after I got down. 

I was walking away when Goose called to me for help getting down. I asked her to wait a moment while I set down my camera. When I turned back around I watched as Woo very patiently and carefully showed her how to safely get off the table. He took his time, making sure that she was able to do all the steps, and waited for her each time before he showed her what to do next. 

It was so sweet to see. Willy and I just watched in awe. He was so gentle. He didn’t grab her and haul her off, yell for us to come, or shove her off the table. He led her through the steps in such a wonderful way. 

I’m so glad that our many paths took us to this park today, so we could see just what a great brother, teacher, and leader he is becoming. Moments like this make all the trying ones melt away.