World’s End

Please notice the sweet boys and ignore the goofy hat. I much prefer my broad brimmed sunhat but with Anthony in the Ergo, I figured he wouldn’t want the brim poking into his face. So the floppy hat it was, which has since lost whatever semblance of shape it once had.

Dom had Monday off and when I learned that the weather would be warm and sunny I had a yearning to go to one of my favorite places: World’s End. So we packed up the kids and some snacks and headed out. A half hour drive and we were there. The name is magic and so is the place: a great big hill on a promontory overlooking the ocean. Trees and wild places. A high grassy meadow. Birds and flowers and butterflies. And in the distance the Boston skyline. So many of my favorite things. There is another part of the park, you cross a causeway and there is a little island with another hill. We’ve never made it that far with our small gang. But someday…. someday when they are a bit older and have more endurance….

Still, there was magic enough. We spotted a red-wing blackbird. And swallows. We identified a few trees. We saw violets and dandelions and picked up pinecones and acorns. Bella collected a branch from a birch tree and one from a larch. We saw a red-tailed hawk on the ground and got so close before it flew off to the top of a nearby tree.

Red-tailed hawk taking off.

Poor Sophie wasn’t feeling so good and neither was Anthony. By the end of the day it was apparent that all the kids have colds. Sophie and Ben were both up coughing last night. But we soldiered on and even though Sophie rode in the stroller and insisted it was too hot, I think even she enjoyed the beauty once we were at the top of the hill. She sat on the bench while the others ran around. But once she had some peanut butter crackers in her belly she perked up a bit.

I carried Anthony on my back. The Ergo is well balanced enough I didn’t feel it on my shoulders or back but, oh, my legs! He got cranky at one point and started pulling on my hair and clawing at my hat. Then fell asleep. Then woke up when we stopped, ate massive quantities of crackers, bread and pizza crusts. Then fell asleep almost immediately. Ben ran and ran and ran. And walked all the way back to the car, sometimes holding my hand. Oh how sweet it was to be walking with my boys, one on my back and the other by my side!