May Flowers

I decided to go walking with Emma and Scott to school every morning during the month of May. I decided I needed the exercise, and the Utah weather has been so gorgeous lately that I felt I needed to get out and enjoy it more fully. The kids liked me joining them on their walk, too. It didn't take too long before we came up with our own walking games every morning, to make the thirty-minute walk more enjoyable and entertaining.

First we made up our own I-Spy alphabet game, in which we had to spot things that started with each letter of the alphabet. My favorite part of the walk was when we reached the letter "Q" and 7-year-old Emma started jumping up and down yelling "quack, quack." I spotted a wild quail once, but it was before we reached the letter "Q," so it didn't count.

After the alphabet game, Scott and Emma came up with a new idea. They started making "nature bouquets" for me during our walk. The children know I love nature and flowers, so they started gathering bits and pieces of natural things for me to give as a gift. I thought it was sweet how they would eagerly try to spot things for me. At the end of the walk I would end up holding all sorts of various wild flowers, lilacs, grass blades, leaves, weeds, dandelions, wheat stalks, and even rocks and pine cones. Every day I took photographs of the bouquets to remember them.

The kids eventually learned how to spot things better as the days progressed, so they were able to gather more and more plants on our trip. On our walks the kids would tell me how much they loved me and how grateful they were that I was their step-mother. It meant a lot to me to hear them say things like, "Becky, I am so glad Daddy married you" and "Becky, I love you so much!" It's sweet and rewarding for me to spend time with them each and every day. I love being their step-mom.