Matt, while out to sea, finally read a book we’ve had on the shelf for years that we’ve always meant to read.  It’s called Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature.  I have to say that I still haven’t read it, but Matt sure is excited about what he learned.  We went to a talk by Jon Young, the author, several years ago in Montana and came away very enthusiastic about what he had to say about mentoring children and connecting with nature.  I was already convinced of the value of getting the kids out in nature as much as possible, and I did just that: I was constantly toting my little ones around to the abundance of lakes, rivers, woods and mountains in the area, and they even went to a local nature camp designed around Jon Young’s ideas.  We thought being in nature would be that easy no matter where we went in the Navy, but not so (NOTHING, I am fairly certain, compares to Montana for getting your nature on), and with Matt’s crazy schedule and strange climates and not knowing the area well, we’ve been, in my opinion, nature slackers.  Oh, those of you who read my blog would argue otherwise, and I am positive we get out there more than most people we know, but we want more.  More depth, more stillness, more connection, more fun and learning, more exercise, more just ‘being’ together out there.  And I’m imagining there is so much more that this book will teach me about why connecting with nature, and with our kids, and connecting our kids with nature, matters.

All that is to say, Matt is so excited right now and can often be found plotting weekend woods trips, getting the fishing poles ready, and packing the backpack with journals and pencils, field guides, knives, magnifying glasses and bandaids.  He’s getting us out there and playing, exploring, creating, moving, listening, running, and learning.  He’s a good catch, that one.  More to come on all this nature business, of course (Matt tells me my job is to photograph our discoveries… yes!).