Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails

Do you remember going to camp as child? The excitement and simplicity of it all? I remember loving being out in nature, being with my friends, away from Mom and Dad and I truly have some of my fondest memories from my camp days. So this past weekend, we had the wonderful opportunity to go to a beautiful remote camp in Ojai as a family and we had the most magnificent time together. The accomodations were more like Motel 6 than the bunks I remember from my camp days, the food was surprisingly good and the environment was a slice of heaven.

My four year old boy was in all his glory having nature and his posse of friends at his disposal. They got to hang out all day, play and immerse themselves in the beauty of nature. And imagine my surprise, disgust and joy when his favorite task of the weekend became being a master snail collector (EWE!) He was fearless as he went searching through the bushes hunting for snails, and once he spotted his mark he would effortlessly pluck the unsuspecting snail from its place and then bring it to the collection area, probably collecting at least 15-20 snails in total. This ALL BOY endeavor was over seen by an enterprising smart alec older boy who crowned my son King Snail collector!

My first reation to this little adventure was "No don't touch/do that it is yucky and you can get germs" but my second and more thoughtful reaction was, "Hey wait a minute, 'snips & snails' this is exactly what little boys are supposed to do and who am I to interupt this natural right of passage?" The sweetness and beauty of this moment just tickles my soul, because my son was just being a boy and I consciously let him do just that rather than trying to impose my expectations or agenda on him. How many times do we as parents try to derail or redirect our kids to do something we want them to do, rather than letting them do what is natural to them? I will fondly remember this magical weekend as the one where my little boy entered his first right of passage (without my interuption :-), and the one where I took many moments to absorb the beauty all around me just like I did as a camper many moons ago.


Goodbye muddah, goodbye faddah,


Romy, Goddess Moma of the King of Snails