Climbing Trees

It seems like for weeks, I've been saying, "This is probably the last nice day that we'll have, so we better go outside." If I bothered to check a forecast, I might have known that we would have one of the most continuous and pleasant falls that I can remember in recent history.

A couple of weeks ago, Sophia had a friend over for a play date. One of the things her friend wanted to do was to climb trees in the park where Sophia had her birthday party. Sophia has never climbed trees there before, or anywhere else for that matter. She would never climb the tree in our front yard in Columbia even when her cousins were nearly at the top.

Because she had never done it before, she wasn't dressed quite like a climber. The tutu and sparkly hat impaired her skills just a smidge, but she had a blast. Most importantly, she was incredibly proud of herself for trying something new and conquering a fear.

 

We have been back a couple of times because Sophia had so much fun. She gets higher and more confident every time. One of my absolute favorite activities as a kid was climbing trees. My legs were never without a scrape or a bruise. I have to admit that I actually had a tear when Sophia got her first scrape. Maybe that's because she didn't whine about it. Hard to say.

 

Now when we head to climb trees, Sophia dresses like a climber. A fancy climber, yes. But a climber.