Dear hiking friends,

As I’m typing out this note, my eyes are filled to the brim with tears that are threatening to salt my cheeks at any moment. Thankfully I’m typing instead of speaking because the words wouldn’t have made it past the lump in my throat. Here goes... let the tears flow.

Forest club started because I wanted to get my kid hiking and exploring and I wanted to do this with friends. At every step of the way, I have felt underqualified and inexperienced. With my good friend Kate, we started small with neighborhood parents we knew and a list of hikes she wanted to take her daughter on. EddyLou was one of the youngest at 23 months, but every week she impressed me as she hiked along and explored with the kids. Friends came, others moved, siblings joined, and our little band of hikers ebbed and flowed. 

When the world was brought to a grinding halt, my childcare evaporated, and I found myself trying to work at home around two young kids - an experience shared by so many parents and one I struggled with deeply. I leaned on our times spent outside with our friends and found solace in creating a daily habit of visiting our favorite nature spots, even though it was just our little family. I started writing weekly with little kid hiking suggestions, and it felt like jumping into a deep pool - surprising in its refreshingness and comforting in the knowledge that I knew how to swim. Others must have been looking for a similar lifeline because our community grew - I was (and continue to be) flabbergasted with every person who signed up for the newsletter, joined the Facebook group, or followed our fledgling Instagram account.

As I began to feel comfortable moving around in the world again, we resumed our weekly nature meet-ups. This time not limiting it to just neighborhood friends, the entire community was invited to join. Together we’ve gotten dirty, gotten lost, fallen in the water, ate all the snacks, thrown epic face-in-the-dirt tantrums, held hands and given hugs (learning to ask permission first), found spores on the underside of ferns, listened to bird calls and children shouting, we’ve ran ahead, lolly-gagged behind, and everything in between. Each week, as I sat down to write the newsletter and plan our hike, I still felt underqualified and inexperienced, and yet... 

the words flowed (or they didn’t because it was already late after a long and hectic weekend), I picked a hike, and the email went out. Monday came, and we rushed out the door to find our friends. My heart was filled with the wonder of this community and the time spent in nature. 

As we get ready to send Everett to TK in just a few weeks, my time leading this group is coming to a close. It is bittersweet in every sense of that word. I am proud of this community. I will miss you, my friends.

With love,

Megan

July 27th, 2023