Several weeks ago, Mira and I planned a morning adventure as soon as I arrived at her house and we set off before she had even eaten breakfast. She was too excited to eat so I packed her some food, drinks and snacks. No telling how long we’d be gone when we hit the trail together.
But we did know our destination. It was our favorite place to visit…the pond in the woods. This pond was hand made by its owner and was heavily concealed by the surrounding flora and large stand of beautiful bamboo nearby. We loved visiting it because it was just enough of a walk to make you feel as if you’ve gone somewhere and many fish and small but full-grown mud turtles resided there. Pure fun!
Today, though, our adventure was added to by a new dimension to our interacting with the fish and turtles. We got out our bread I had packed for them and started feeding the fish and before long large groups of mostly minnows were hungrily crowding around the pieces near the edge of the pond. Sometimes we’ll bring along a few of Mira’s plastic cups or beach toys to try and scoop some of the fish up for a closer look. This day we hadn’t so I decided to try my luck at scooping them up in my hands and I was surprised when I caught a few. Mira and I watched as they flopped around in my palms as the water drained through. I quickly lowered them back into the water. I did this repeatedly and was successful most times. Then Mira wanted to give it a try as well. I told her to wait until there was a large school around the bread pieces and then she quickly dunked her tiny hands in and brought up some wriggling fish! We both were thrilled at her triumph…yay!
Soon we spied a mud turtle swimming our way and Mira asked if she could wade into the cold water and try and catch it. I was surprised at her request because most of the time it’s Grandma who catches them as she watches. So I answered, sure, go ahead. She waded in and in no time had grabbed up that small turtle. She proudly held him aloft, watching his tiny, webbed feet claw the air as we got a closer view.
Mira ate her breakfast after the bread had been dispersed and then the owner and her large, red cat came by for a quick visit before she headed out to run an errand.
When getting Mira ready to go that morning we chose the new shoes that I had recently bought for her. She informed me that one of her heels had a blister on it from the shoes and that she only needed one sock because the other foot had no blister. Okay, I agreed, only one sock for the one foot.
Early afternoon as the sun began to heat up, we headed back home and stopped at the swing that hangs from an ancient oak across the dirt road from the pond. We swung awhile enjoying the shade and quiet breeze under the tree. For once, I had brought my phone with me and asked Mira if I could take a photo of her. Many times she refuses, so I was happy when she agreed. This time too, she said wait a minute Grandma, and then posed with her eyes shut and her palms pressed together in pranam, her legs crossed in lotus pose. This is a reverent salutation used in Indian cultures. The photo is charming not only because of her reverent pose but because if you look closely you’ll see only one foot is with sock, the other without.