Natural Setting- Maymont- Catherine Buttner

The Syllabus says we have to write at least two blog posts about experiences in natural settings, so I decided to write about when I went to Maymont a couple of weeks ago.  I was visiting my parents in Richmond for the weekend along with my brother, my sister in-law, and my two nephews and my niece.  On the way to Maymont, I was kind of distracted and stressed about a couple of my classes, so I didn't know how much I was going to enjoy walking around at Maymont.   My mindset was kind of like "let's get this over with" because I was supposed to drive back to Newport News later in the day and I had a lot of schoolwork to do.  Additionally, I was really tired from spending the weekend around three small children who don't sleep. 

The first thing we did was walk to the bear enclosure because it was 10:30 a.m., which is when the bears are the most active.  They were running around and playing with each other and swimming, which was really cute.  After that, the children wanted to explore the hilly area that's covered with bamboo.  I had to help my youngest nephew (age 3) climb around in that area because of the steep terrain.  This reminded me of how fast he's growing up and how he'll be able to do climb steep hills by himself pretty soon. 

Next, we went into the Japanese garden area.  My nephews kept wanting to walk across the stepping stones in the pond over and over again, which reminded me of how I used to do the same thing when I was a small child.  The stepping stones seemed so far apart when I was a 3-year-old, but now, as an adult, they seem very close together.  It's interesting how our perceptions of things change as we age.  My oldest nephew (age 6) kept trying to push me into the pond, which was hilarious.  He kept asking me "Why won't you jump in?" and I tried to explain to him that it was a gross, algae-filled pond that probably contained a lot of bacteria.  I found it interesting how different the experience of being in a natural setting is when I'm with these children.  They are distracting in a good way.  Normally, I would see Maymont as a peaceful, spiritual place where I can "escape" from the stress of life and reflect on things.  But this time I was more interested in watching how the children enjoy the place with their innocence and playfulness.