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Living The Adventure


January, 2008

By Trish Berg

I went on an adventure last Friday. There were not Knights in shining armor. No palaces or princesses. No kings, no swords, no fire breathing dragons and no happily ever afters.

Yet, it was quite an adventure, especially if you are four -almost five Š and life is joyful wherever you go.

My adventure started out with a simple request. A MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) groups in Lima, Ohio, invited me to come and speak to their group. Now Lima is quite a distance from where I live in Ohio. ItÕs about a two hour drive and them some.

But my Aunt Karen lives in Lima, so I decided to make it a family adventure, and I called the Ernest Bed and Breakfast to see if they had a room available. They did, so I decided to make it an event.

I then asked my mother-in-law, Mary Ann, to come along with me, making the drive more fun, and giving her the chance to hear me speak in front of an audience.

And I decided to bring along my preschooler, Riley, who is the four-almost five-year old, the youngest in our family who always seems to be left out.

What started as a simple trip became known as AN ADVENTURE by little Miss Riley. I was standing out in the kitchen talking to Mike about my plans, figuring out all the details. Because you all know that when Mom is away, plans must be made. Moms carry the DAY PLANNER of the family in the brains, and absent mom means absent day planner.

Things like who needs to pack lunch, when is Hannah coming home form the dance, can you be there to meet the bus and whatÕs for dinner. All very pertinent questions for a dad left at home with 3 kids.

So, as Mike and I were talking, I said, "I think IÕll bring Riley along to sleep over at KarenÕs since they have babysitting at MOPS.."

The words were not even out of my mouth fully when, form the other room, Mike and I heard this quiet little murmur, "I get to goÉI get to goÉI get to goÉ"

Yep, poor little Riley, who isnÕt so little any longer at four-almost-five, is usually the one who does NOT get to go. She is the left-behind-kids, a curse of being the youngest of four. LetÕs be real here. If I am going to Wal-Mart, IÕd much rather bring my 12 year old who can actually help me. If Mike has baseball practice, heÕd much rather bring along 8 year old Colin who loves playing with the boys. If I am going to run errands, 10 year old Sydney can carry a bag or two, and I donÕt have to chase her down the aisles or bribe her with M & Ms at the check out because she is hitting her limit, and my head feels like it just might explode off my head.

So Riley is the last choice. The left-behind kid.

And now, she was the chosen one, the one who got to go along.

She came running into the kitchen and asked, "Where am I going?"

"On an adventure with Mommy," I said.

I had no idea that those words would have such an impact on her.

Every day for almost a week Riley asked me, "When is our adventure, Mommy?"

"In a few days, Honey," I said.

About 50 inquires later, we were actually in the car and driving to Lima.

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Peace settled on us as she fell asleep in the car. But once we pulled into KarenÕs driveway, she said, "Is this our adventure? Are we here?"

Yep, let the adventure begin.

She was so full of joy to simply be along for the ride. And my cousin, Jason, bought her the most adorable stuffed, pink bear that she has been sleeping with every night since.

We can just call that her adventure bear.

But the funniest moment came when, just before bed that night, she went to the bathroom. As I came in to help her wipe (yep, a mom job for sure) her eyes suddenly lit up and she asked me, "Mom, is that ADVENTURE PAPER?" referring to the toilet paper hanging just next to the, you guessed it, toilet.

"Yes, Riley, this is adventure paper."

I bet Karen and Ron never knew they lived in such an exciting house full of adventure at every turn, even in the bathroom.

And I bet I never will forget the joy in RileyÕs eyes as we ventured out into the world of our ADVENTURE.

And though there were no Knights in shining armor. No palaces or princesses. No kings, no swords, no fire breathing dragons and no happily ever afters. I had such a wonderful time with my four-almost-five-year old on our little Lima Adventure.

And I simply hope that I can capture just an ounce of her joy as I travel down whatever adventure lie ahead of me tomorrow.

Trish would love to hear from you at www.trishberg.com, or e-mail trishberg    @   trishberg.com.

© Trish Berg, 2006-present
Trish Berg is author to The Great American Supper Swap, and Rattled - Surviving Your Baby's First Year without Losing Your Cool! She has been a guest ABC World News Tonight, Midday Connection, and The Harvest Show.
She is an internationally known speaker for ministries such as MOPS, Hearts at Home, and in Australia on Parenting Seminars Online. She has written for Today's Christian Woman, MOMSense, CBN.com and P31 WOMAN.
For more information, check out www.TrishBerg.com

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