Emma and I ...

Emma and I have not had an afternoon together, just the two of us, since she was ... two years old. This is not at all because I haven't desired it, longed for it, asked for it, etc. But it just has not happened in all of these years. Today it happened completely on a fluke and I will remember it always.

It is too long a story to explain how this happened: suffice it to say that Emma and I went out to lunch together, and then we drove out to Pickerel Lake and hiked the entire lake together ... just Emma and I.

I did not photograph the longest boardwalk this visit, but you have to cross over it as you begin the hike around the lake. Emma has been terrified of it for a very long time and in past hikes has refused to set foot on it! We have always had to take alternate routes to avoid it. But today was different. She told me, rather emphatically, that it was "time to conquer her fears." So ... we walked across that very long boardwalk, chatting happily all the way. When we were about 3/4 of the way across, Emma asked me how deep the water was out where we were. I responded that I did not know for certain, but I thought it might be about 3' or so (it is rather boggy and swampy out there). She was SO surprised and said if she had known that it wasn't deep water, she would not have been afraid in the first place!

We had such a nice talk as we hiked. I must tell you something here. I have known and felt this for years ... Emma is a friend. I know that she is my grandDAUGHTER and my very first grandCHILD (which is special enough right there!), but she has become a dear friend. We share confidences, Emma and I. We are comfortable with each other. We laugh at the same stuff. We crack up together. We can look at each other briefly and know EXACTY what the other one is thinking. And mostly, we love each other just as we are. And that is the best kind of love I think ... not that we don't encourage each other to grow and learn and become better people--but we understand and appreciate each other unconditionally. It is such a gift.

Emma had her tablet with her and was very much enjoying being a photographer today.

Pickerel State Park is a deliciously beautiful place. I will cherish this memory ...

Emma and I ...