Serene Saturday

We started our Saturday early . Finishing with breakfast and showers at 9.30 is remarkably early in this household where everyone loves being nocturnal and likes to sleep in on weekends. I took Avi and Neev for a walk and ran into a neighbor who told me about the 20th Anniversary of signing of Irvine's historic Open Space Initiative. It was being celebrated at Bommer Canyon which is not too far from our place. This city has the most amazing green space, hike and bike trails and native & created open spaces to enjoy passive or active recreational opportunities (I prefer passive ) . It did not take me time to decide that we would all enjoy going there. By the time we got back from our walk , Neev began to get fussy (he woke up early and needed a nap). Anurag (my husband) graciously agreed to baby sit and asked us to go ahead. It proved to be a perfect chance for Avi and I to have some one on one time. We drove to Bommer Canyon to discover the 'wild' side of our city. As I was driving on the dessert dirt road , Avi recognized the cacti on the side and said excitedly 'I saw that in the book we borrowed from the library'. Proud of my son's memory as any mom would be, I lowered the window glasses and savored the fragrant smells of native plants and flowers. It was a wonderful event - they had guided hiking tours , live music for kids (Avi's favorite - old Mcdonald had a farm ee...i..ee..i...o), crafts and also a sumptuous lunch sponsored by the city. Avi liked touching the footprints molds (made from latex) of animals found in the open space and he recognized frog's footprints too. He also loved stamping the animal shapes on paper. We made binoculars out of empty toilet paper rolls and decorated it with stickers, even though Avi decided later that those were for small kids since the holes were sticking too close. He told me that I should think about getting him some big boys binoculars , not the pretend ones. That was fresh, coming from my little king of his own imaginary word where everything is make believe. The highlight of his day was to shake hands with the Fire Chief , getting a badge and the fire fighter's hat.
We enjoyed a short stroll and meandered through the open space while collecting some pine cones and pebbles (to show it to Daddy). I appreciated the beauty of these urban open space lands, majestic vistas and beautiful birds and above all ,my son walking along side enjoying it just as much.
Driving back we looked at the bright blue sky and the hills surrounded by it. I inhaled a deep breath .........it was all so tranquil.