When James’s great-aunt Susan came to visit, we took her for a walk at Minute Man National Historical Park, near our home. We didn’t go very far that day. We did, however, give one particular tree a considerable amount of attention.
It had deeply ridged bark and roots rising through the grass. Behind it, a stone wall ran between the trees. There were leaves underfoot, bare branches overhead, and quite enough to occupy us without getting much farther down the path.
James had a small piece of wood. Susan had a twig. In the photographs, they’re both beside the trunk, exploring. In one, James has his hand against the bark. In another, he’s grinning while Susan holds her twig toward the tree.
I love seeing them together like this.
Susan knows how to join him
One of the things I appreciate most about Susan is the way she meets James where he is. She notices what interests him and finds something to share with him there.
On this walk, that meant the sensory pleasures of nature: texture, things to look at closely, something interesting happening at the base of a tree. Susan could see the possibilities in what was already around them. She was willing to stay and explore.
As his mother, I’m grateful for that kind of attention. I want James to have people in his life who get to know his interests, enjoy his company, and make room for his way of participating. Susan does that with such warmth.
And there is plenty of humor in these pictures. In one of the photographs on the path, they’re both laughing. James has his bag of Goldfish. Susan is holding the tablet in its blue case. A few frames later, her arm is around his shoulders and they’re smiling at the camera.
The Goldfish have made it into the family portrait, too. Fair enough. They came on the walk.
A little Minute Man history, with Susan
Susan was enamored with the history of the area, and Minute Man gives you plenty to think about as you walk. The park preserves historic places in Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord associated with April 19, 1775, when the opening battles of the American Revolution unfolded here. Read the National Park Service’s history of that day.
Today, the park’s five-mile Battle Road Trail connects historic sites between Concord and Lexington. Much of it follows surviving portions of the historic Battle Road; other stretches leave the old road and pass through fields, wetlands, and woods. Explore the Battle Road Trail.
I loved sharing this part of home with Susan. When a place is familiar, someone else’s enthusiasm gives you a reason to look again. The stone walls, the paths, the stories attached to the landscape: she was interested in all of it.
And she brought that same curiosity to her time with James. There she was beside the tree, with a twig of her own, joining him. There was room for the history, the sensory discoveries, and the pleasure of being together. We could take our time with all three.
How far we went
Looking back through the photographs, I’m struck by how much of the visit happened while we were standing still.
We spent time together. Susan found ways to share James’s interest in nature. They explored a tree, paused on the path, and laughed. I have pictures of the two of them that I’m very glad we took.
That is what I love about this visit. Susan came to spend time with James, and she found him right there: beside a tree, with something interesting in his hand.
We didn’t go far that day.
In many ways, we did.
