My 20-year old son and I just returned from a spectacular backpacking trip to Cumberland Island, Georgia. I'm left almost speechless in regard to the beauty of the island, the time spent walking beneath the canopy of live oaks strewn with Spanish moss, hearing the ocean lap the shore, patiently admiring the fascinating armadillo as her nose scurries back and forth under the forest bed of leaves and pine needles, gasping at the 9-foot long alligator in Whitney Lake, pondering as I peered up and down the human-deserted beach, listening to the life stories of the few people we met along the trails, and conversing with one of the youth of today - that is my son.
I have great hope in our youth. My young adult son and daughter and their friends are people of whom to be proud. They take pride in their life, their work, their purpose as they continue to search for what that purpose is. They want to be socially responsible and make a positive impact on the world. I met a few college students who were also backpacking the island. They are taking on responsibility in life.
On our 7-hour drive home my son stated that he imagines he had the best spring break of anyone at his community college. A spring break he spent with me, his 51-year old mom, backpacking an island across some 25 to 30 miles. He spoke of the human desire for freedom - one of the reasons he enjoys backpacking, the feeling of freedom. And there is a certain freedom therein. Like all freedom, it comes with responsibility. In the wild, one can very quickly discover if they are not acting with responsibility.
The feral horses that roam the island eat the Spanish moss that hangs from giant branches of the live oak trees. There is an abundance of the unusual spaghetti-like plant. I imagine the horses will be eating it for a long while with unknown gratitude to the people they never met who took on the responsibility of fighting for that island, allowing the native habitat to continue as the true and rightful owners.
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2 comments:
Your trip with your son sounds wonderful. Special moments in time. :-)
Definitely!!
That my 20-year old son would take time to backpack with his old Mom causes me great joy. He even gets a kick out of it, and usually has some fun stories to tell.
Like one time (on another backpacking trip) where I fell backwards with my heavy backpack on and, like a turtle, couldn't get up. I just had to sit there until he came over to put me upright on my feet. lol
Thanks again!
~carol :)
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