Two weeks ago we hiked up to Horsetail Falls in the Gorge. We originally had plans to head out to Mount Hood since we haven’t been out there since September. But Friday night came around and C and I were exhausted and decided to pivot plans last minute. I had this hike saved on my AllTrails app, and so we went for it. It was stunning (as always – I think I say that with every hike we do) and it felt so good to be outside in nature with the pine trees and rushing water.

This hike marked the passing of the Osprey carrier down from our oldest and onto our youngest. Which inevitably means all future hikes will need to be possible for small legs. While I’m beaming with pride that our little guy completed this hike all on his own, I would be lying if I said I don’t ever struggle with feeling like our adventures are not big enough anymore. We are entering a stage of life that I’ve seen coming where our hikes will be limited to what our little kids’ legs can accomplish. We have been stuffing our way-too-big of a kid into the Osprey carrier and hauling him places to try to get our fix of particular mountain views we want to cross off our list.

As kids make you do, I’m learning to slow way down and appreciate just spending time with my family in the outdoors. The views will still be there, but I’m not going to get these years back with my kids. So I am working on staying focused in soaking up this time and finding immense joy when I see my kiddo climb on top of a fallen tree in the middle of the trail and pretend he is on a rocketship to the moon. Our hikes are not nearly as speedy as they used to be, but they are now full of imagination and laughter.