August 2, 2020. Feeling inspired after a morning filled with donning costumes in the “pretend center” of their playroom, Elijah and Penelope floated the idea of hiking in costume. Lacking any good reasons to deny that request, Nick and I agreed. Before we knew it, Elijah was a vibrant parrot, Penelope was a beautiful butterfly, Nick was a tall tree, and I was a flowing river. For an hour, we left the worries of the world and heavinesses of our hearts. We just hiked, pretended, and played.














