The Soul of the Matter: A Mother’s Day…

I’m not your average mother (I know. Hard to believe, right?). What with the staying up all night, or basically for weeks at a time except for catnaps. And then there are the cooking and cleaning binges I go on, once the deadline’s met. And, oh yeah, my Mother’s Day ideal is dragging my family on mile after mile of interior hiking to untouched waterfalls. Dozens of them, that you can only get to by climbing down steep embankments from the safer high ridges where the rough trail runs, then scrambling over fallen trees and up steeper rises to the next ridge that’s been cut off by last year’s storms. Doesn’t that sound divine? Take a look at the presents you get, if you’re along for the ride.

 opening 1

opening 2

opening woods

Most of these were taken actually in the middle of “creeks” that are running high still from the spring thaw and a few weeks of steady rain. You have to get close, where the rush of the water is making you shiver, even though you’re wearing a sweatshirt and jeans in mid-May. You have to feel the mist after it crashes into the rocks that over time are worn smooth and covered in the greenest moss you’ve ever seen. You have to reach your hand into the ice-cold softness of this eternally-running perfection while you’re hunting for the ideal picture to remember your day by.

running 1

running 2

 running 3

A lot of the time, I haunt these North Georgia woods on my own. This weekend, my guys took me to this place where I’ve never hiked before, so far interior my husband roughed it with me until the woods swallowed up the trail and there was no room left for us. My son’s gift–staying back at the B&B we’ve been to so many times, the owners are the best of friends, studying for his AP Bio exam and the rest of his finals so I could have a day of not worrying if my celebration would cost him points he can’t afford to lose. And it was raining, water finding water and filling us and misting our way through mud and dampness and the feeling that we’d moved back in time to a place where nothing electric or motorized or man-made had ever passed.

straight ahead 1

straigh ahead closer 

Of course, it was just a day trip. We’re not embarking on a trek across the AT. But it was glorious, and then I got to go back to the Inn, clean up, and on Sunday we hit the best cafe in a nearby town, all prettied up for brunch.  Don’t give me that look! I am a mother, after all. I like to be pampered as much as the next girl. I just like the water more, and you can’t get to the kind of water I like without a little mud and a challenging mile or two. And on some of these trails, a girl needs a little company to get close enough to what she likes.

My family gave that to me this Mother’s Day.My quail on a bed of fresh spinach seasoned with warm bacon vinaigrette on Sunday was lovely, too. But so was my mud. ‘Cause for me, in case you haven’t read one of my books, the very soul of what you love is a shy critter to hunt. And it’s the chase that entrances me the most. I like to dig around a bit–well, a lot. I like the kind of lovely ending that getting muddy along the way makes a hundred times better.

One last look at what I mean? You’ve seen my Shoes are My Heroin posts here and likely the running shoe-orgasm on my Pinterest Shoe Page. But I’ve never shared the before and after. The very beginning and end of what fascinates me most. The tomboy mom lusting after the perfect water, and the designer shoe mom who wants a long, beautifully prepared meal with my guys where we talk about all kinds of things we let pass us by on a normal day.

So, yeah. I’m the kind of mom who likes to hike through the mud to the wettest, most beautiful sights I can find. Then the next morning, I like vintage wine with my orange juice ;o)

Here you go–my PERFECT Mother’s Day shoes. My weekend wouldn’t have been complete without either pair. Let me know which ones you like best ;o) It’s a toss up for me. I’m just that kind of mom…

boots

sandles

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3 Responses to “The Soul of the Matter: A Mother’s Day…”

  1. What an awesome Mother’s Day! Sounds amazing and the pictures are lovely. So glad you had a nice time. I, like you, would do better in the hiking boots.

  2. robena grant says:

    What a fabulous way to spend mothers day. A shower and quick change of shoes and presto! It’s magic!
    Loved the photos.

  3. Beautiful photos. Sounds like you had a great day. I like the tennies better although my personal preference is barefoot.

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