January 1

I took the kids and dogs on my traditional New Year’s Day hike, this year to the Julington-Durbin Creek Preserve, and oh, the drama. I knew the girls wouldn’t want to go on a long hike, so I took them down a side trail to cut off the longer loop. It was a little grown over and Christina cried the whole way, saying we were lost, that we’d never find our way out, that we would be eaten by bears and Daddy would have to live alone, that she wanted to go back and take the long way, who cares about her feet? Then there were some briars on the trail and I had to pull a couple out of Jackson’s paws and that sealed it for Christina. She says she’ll never go on another hike with me again, even though we were never lost. And that’s how we’re kicking off 2023. 🎉