By Nick Hayden
July 8, 2016
We all know (I hope) how the first tinges of warm weather bring alive the senses. We want to go out of doors, to find something outside our winter-enclosed world, to explore and somehow, in some way, suck a bit of the marrow out of life. We long for adventure, even those of us who aren’t rock climbers and wilderness explorers. That’s one reason we spend hours staring at a page or a screen, to be taken somewhere bigger than where we are. We want magic in our lives.
But there is another sort of adventure, I think, that we often miss, the adventure of ordinary things. I remember watching The Secret World of Arrietty and being amazed at how much wonder came through the interaction of these little people with commonplace objects. As adults, we sometimes forget these little flashes of wonder. For kids, it’s the air they breathe.
I lay on the grass the other day with my daughter Serenity, looking at clouds. I thought we’d find shapes in the sky. She far outdid me. One after another, she pointed out figures with utter confidence–That’s a dragon, there’s a car, that’s a princess riding a horse, that’s a shark eating lunch. I don’t think there was a cloud in the sky she didn’t see as something other than a cloud. It didn’t take any effort. It just was.
The other morning, I woke to find that my son had been building Dino City out of Legos. Little dinosaur action figures lived in a town of roads, a hospital, a slide, a beach and lake (with a life guard), and a gas station.
I’ve found my own little piece of adventure. I’ve entered the world of geocaching with my kids. If you don’t know what geocaching is, it works like this. A person hides a container somewhere where others can find it. He submits the GPS coordinates to a website. Others come to find the container, using those coordinates, sign their name on a log, and leave it for the next person. More than 2.8 million geocaches exist worldwide.
The Hayden family is approaching our 100th find. What I enjoy most, besides the obvious treasure-hunting element, is the way it heightens the idea of mystery to the world. What, there’s been a hidden container at the park my kids played at for years? And there’s one at a phone booth next to my brother’s house? I can’t drive past a cemetery now without thinking, I bet there’s a geocache there. The world is suddenly full of surprises in all sorts of everyday places.
Enjoying a nature hike at the Detering Nature Preserve in Kendallville
Not only that but geocaches lead me to all sorts of interesting locations right in my backyard. I’ve drank water from an artesian well, scavenged in a cemetery tucked away in an old industrial section of town, and discovered a picturesque and rickety bridge that inspired this short story. All within 10 miles of my house.
This has had interesting upshots. During Fourth of July weekend I decided to take the family “hiking” in a nature preserve on the edge of my hometown I’ve passed a million times but never once entered, despite living here for the past 35 years. Why not adventure in my backyard?
The world is big and beautiful and full of exciting things–not just out there but right next door, under our noses, if we have eyes to see it.
Or, in Children of the Wells terms, perhaps there’s more magic in the world than we first thought.
Don't miss a single word of stories as they are published! You'll also receive first notice of special sales and behind-the-scenes information.
