My 6 year old daughter has never a strong bushwalker (she seems to have blanked her memories of our family’s soggy muddy trudges to random waterfalls and equates the Blue Mountains only with burnt marshmallows.)
So imagine my delight when she happily accepted our neighbour’s invite to go orienteering last week. Such is the power of an invite from a big girl a whole 2 years older than her and her mum. So I jumped in and invited myself too. I was keen to carve out a bit of bonding time with my eldest as so much is shared with her younger sister. Plus I’ve had another birthday and really felt like staving off aging by trying something new.
I parked the car near a bush reserve, and noticed with trepidation, a whole lot of sliver haired men striding purposefully to the registration desk. They all had the physique of mountain goats and wore specialized trek clothing. I had thought we were going for a 45 minute stroll. These dudes looked Serious. And much more Serious than a 6 year old most likely dreaming of marshmallows could ever be, or her mum looking forward to a bit of girly chat time. (on that note ladies, Hot Dating Tip – any single 50’s or 60’s ladies out there looking to meet a fit outdoorsy positive types who like a challenge, do sign yourselves up!)
It was quite an education for me and I loved it. Thankfully we had kind advice on a manageable route which involved aiming fairly low. We still had to involve planning, strategy, timekeeping, just a bit of hand holding, mud and a mad jog toward the finishing line with a minor scraped knee. It was fun and our small group made it through, in our own way and our own time.
So in the spirit of trying something new, do read about our upcoming workshops (Reconnecting You, and Zen Relationship Goddess – plus our new monthly Friday evening Sound Meditations starting Nov 13.) We also have another amazing weekly Yin class – Thursday nights with the wonderful Em. And we welcome back Anne who will be taking over Sunday morning yoga for an all over great workout. And Ingrid returns from her overseas trip to teach her I Can Yoga (Yoga for all shapes, sizes, ages and abilities) at the new timeslot of 4pm Saturdays. The other thing I finally did was try out a delish healthy pumpkin pie (Halloween is teasingly close to our household) so you’ll find the recipe on this blog too.
–Christina
PS do share this with your friends, mother’s group or anyone who might like it – you never know, you might change their life!