It is one year now since our son started kindergarten. In Japan the school year starts in April and there is a little holiday for the students between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next. It is difficult to believe that it has already been one year, and when I look at our son, how much he has grown, I do wonder how this year could have gone by so quickly.
On the first kindergarten-free day I wanted to do something special and fun together, and since the weather was looking good, what better than to go hiking. So we packed our backpacks, put on our hiking boots and took the bicycle towards the mountains. Last time we went to this particular mountain I had a backpack that I could carry my son in, and I remember him falling asleep on the way home. This time my son had his own little backpack, and I was wondering how far up the mountain he would make it on his own.
I always have a walking stick when I am hiking, it saves some strain on the knees I feel. In the car park my son found a branch that had fallen down from a tree, and he picked it up and used it as a walking stick of his own. This mountain has a shrine on the top, and the trail starts going through a great many torii, Shinto shrine archways, before turning into a narrow steep path heading up the mountain. My son was happily jumping along and before we knew it we had reached the halfway point where there is a little bench with a beautiful view of our little town.
As we continued, my son’s legs got more and more tired and when we reached the sign with the funny English translation, click here for the summit, we really wished that it was true, that a click would send us to the top. But we did not give up, and with encouraging words and promises from me of an egg lunch and views of Fukuoka tower when we arrive, we eventually made it to the summit. And after a long bento lunch and rest, we started or hike downhill.
On the way down we made two breaks. The first one was in the middle of the trail where a little man made stone pile on a big rock caught my son’s attention. He was determined to make a little stone sculpture of his own and I was happy to watch him search for fitting stones and build his own little celebration of this mountain. The second stop was a small shrine lying a bit off trail but with a beautiful view of the valley below. There, my son found a friend in an old lady and they where chatting a bit about the ants running around on the ground, about the flowers and trees and my son showed his new friend his walking stick.
When we got back to the bicycle, my son said that the stick needed to come home with us because he wanted to show it to mum, so it was two proud and tired boys and two walking sticks that came home that day. You did so amazingly well my son, imagine the day has come when you can climb a proper mountain all by yourself. I am so looking forward to making more hikes together.
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Vilken härlig dag för er båda❣️ Du är en fantastisk pappa och underbart för Neo att få sin barndom dokumenterad med så många fina bilder. Idag är det vår i luften här och 15 grader. Blir inga berg att bestiga men nog en promenad i Prästeboda…🥰
Tack så jättemycket för din kommentar och för att du läser min blogg! Med önskan om en härlig vår❣️