Blindsided

 My Highlight yesterday was the walk with my oldest son. One of my personal requirements is taking each of my boys separately (although not always) on a couple of my weekly walks.

I wanted to make sure they benefit a little bit from my new habits and create an opportunity to bond and be able to have private conversations. Well, today Leon my jolly teenager volunteered to join me. He was being silly and pretending to be blind, using his kung fu stick to orient himself inside the house and putting on his shoes.

My first reaction was a bit impatient, as there is always so much more to do in the day, and watching a 13-year-old boy taking a seemingly endless time to put on his shoes while squeezing his eyes together "for no good reason" was challenging.

But then I remembered our exercise at last week's IHC class when we were supposed to navigate through this maze. I wondered if Leon could or would want to try to walk the whole trail without his eyesight and of course, that wasn't a hard sell. He was thrilled! That second my attitude about this walk taking longer than I planned changed. I blindfolded Leon and equipt with his stick we hit our 1 km trail that leads through rough terrain, snow banks, lopsided pathways, roots, trees, hills, and slopes. I have never seen our land through that lens and it was so interesting to watch and listen to Leon commenting on his experience. We both had a really good time and a lot of new insights due to this "silly" idea. I take a few things with me from this:

1. Lean in...!!! can I play along, is there an opportunity?

2. Playing along and forgetting my own agenda can be so much fun and has now created a new memory.

3. When kids try to learn, don't stop them!

4. An insane amount of patience, understanding, and time is required.

5. I have to sharpen my own senses to be a reliable and useful leader.

6. I want to hike this trail blindfolded myself now but I'm not sure who I trust enough to lead me on this challenging walk alongside barbed wire fencing.🙈