March 25, 2020. For our second adventure, we headed to Festge County Park. Having never been, we didn’t know quite what to expect. We reviewed our map and hit the trails running (well, again, the kids were running and the adults tried to keep up). We celebrated any signs of new life we could find, which mostly consisted of sporadic weeds/ground covering in the woods. The sky was gray and the air was heavy. During quiet moments, when we were still, we could feel the palpable loneliness of the pandemic times. While we thoroughly practice gratitude in our family, we realized, we weren’t making much space for the sadness. On that day, we began making room for both. We lamented a school year not ending the way we’d hoped and a birthday party that wouldn’t come to be. We missed our friends. We missed hugging loved ones. We missed sharing meals with family and talking to our favorite baristas. We missed tennis, piano, and karate. We missed being immersed in our faith community. We missed so much! It was hard and lonely AND we were so grateful for our ability to feel so deeply. We felt grateful that we have loved ones to miss. Grateful for food and the privilege of shelter. Grateful for an incredible foursome to be “stuck” with during a shut down. Grateful for health enough to hike. We found it was possible to welcome in the sadness and worry while remaining grateful. It’s a both/and practice we continue to engage. Sometimes beauty and hope blossom when we are brave enough to sit in the stillness of despair.
KNEP Hikes 