 |
| I Know A Place |
 |
| A Special Place |
 |
| Secret Hideout |
I am his seldom-seen-Kathy, Jon's Mom. The one who will explore the steep pathways through tangled brush and branches. I am the one who loves to see his happy face as he explains where he keeps his water bottle and where his slingshot is wedged between two large rocks.
His space is small and we squat down to look at rocks, pebbles, branches, coins and broken jewelry in a box he has stashed behind the boulders. He shows me his treasures explaining the extraordinary properties of each item. He glances up at me and although I smile and seem interested, he senses that it's time to move on.
"What do you think of this?" he asks as he puts on his blue and red Spiderman mask even though it's ninety degrees in the shade. "You won't tell anyone about my hideout. Right?" He accepts my reassurances and skampers up the hillside.
Many minutes later, after a few slips and slides, I join him on a shelf of rock just below the lip of the canyon and we watch a raven catch an updraft and disappear. There are more hideouts he tells me, and maybe if I wear better shoes, not the flip flops I have on, I may be able to go with him and have even more fun. It's time to climb out of the little canyon where he hides his treasures, where he can pretend to be the ever popular Spiderman or the superhero of the day. I realize how wise he is to suggest I give up my flip flops and wear something more suited to exploring his neighborhood. As we walk past the manicured laws and driveways, he tells me how he wishes he has more friends. I smile and know he will have many.
