A Mom and Daughter Camping Adventure: Day Two

I rolled over in my sleeping bag, facing Mia to see if she was awake yet. Of course she was, she is just like me in the respect that we are morning glories, opening our petals at the first glimmer of sunshine. Her big blue eyes were full of happiness, and her laughter was full of joy. She slid out of her sleeping bag and closer to me for some snuggle time.
As we laid there, listening to the sounds of birds awakening outside of our tent, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of joy. Or was it pride? I couldn’t tell to be honest, I just knew that it was a sense of wonderful. I get this feeling all the time when I’m with my little girl. This mornings feeling was a direct reflection on our time together here.

Though we had only gotten to the White Mountain National Forest the night before, our camping trip was already the best one I had ever been on. Mia was happy, excited to be here. Ready to start out on our adventures of the day. Her eagerness to live life outside of the box is astonishing, and just another sign that I was on the right track in helping her overcome her struggles. I am not one to brag about the things I do for my daughter, but here I will say that if I were not the mom that I am, she would not be who she is today.
It wasn’t long before Mia was ready to get out of the tent. I unzipped the door and Mia popped out with a wonderful spring in her step. She headed to the car, and my initial thought was that she already wanted to go somewhere other than here. But when she went to the door opposite the one she normally gets in, I realized that I was wrong. I unlocked the car, and she reached in for the cooler. She was ready for breakfast and apple juice!!

As I prepared our breakfast, I let the sense of wonderful wash over me again as I realized how special this moment was. In the past, Mia would see an object of desire, such as the car, and it was as though it triggered a video that played in her mind. (Car means we get in, buckle up and go. But we’re not in it. Why aren’t we going? And then the tantrum of frustration would ensue.) At this moment, I could only smile at how amazing it was that Mia’s mind no longer played a “video” when she saw an object of desire (like the car), and how the tantrums of frustration have ceased. She was just…..HAPPY!
After breakfast, we changed our clothes and got ready to venture out of camp. I looked at the map to see what was around for easy hiking trails. I decided on the Mud Brook Trail. It was just down the road from us, and because it shared a name with one of our favorite outdoor aspects (MUD!), it was sure to provide us with a day of fun! I got the pack ready with supplies, and we were soon on the trail.
After heading out on the trail, it became clear that there was very little mud on it. But that was okay. Mia was pretty excited to be out here exploring. As soon as I had our pack on, she ran onto the trail, stopping a little ways in to see if I was still behind her.

The beginning of the trail was relatively flat, but as we continued the trail pitched up a bit. Eventually, we were walking along side the brook, which caused the trail to get quite a bit narrower. This didn’t bother Mia though, she just continued to motivate on up! Well, except for the moments where she had to wait for mom to get done taking pictures!
We spent nearly all day out here in the woods. We had lunch with us, so we found a nice place to park it while we ate. Mia enjoyed the moment of rest and relaxation, but as soon as our food was gone she was ready to get moving again!

It seemed like the day flew by quickly, and before we knew it we were back at camp preparing supper. Mia played happily in the grass while I got everything ready for our evening. We even had a little visitor with us at camp this evening! Can you see him, directly above the logo in the picture below? He was in the tree directly above Mia while she played in the grass, chattering at her the whole time!