She Almost Missed It

“If you plan to eat something this evening, you can’t cook it on that phone.” Rachel’s mother directed her attention to the worn path, recently traversed by her younger brothers. “Go help them with the firewood, and make sure they come back the same way they left.” Rachel, with all the excitement of a child going to the dentist, put her phone in her pocket and followed Daniel and Lucas between the luscious evergreen trees, towering beyond Rachel’s notice. She was less than enthused about the prospect of an entire weekend camping with the family. But her parents gave her no choice. Well, there was a choice; but of the options her father presented, this one was the least life threatening. So, she tossed a few things into a bag and went along, solely for the purpose of self- preservation.

Having collected the acceptable quota of firewood, she wrangled the two perpetual thorns in her side, and they made their way back to their campsite. While her brothers ran, a concept she had long forgotten and seldomly emulated, 19-year-old Rachel strolled along the pebbled path. When she reached the edge of the clearing where her family had setup camp, the scene before her seemed entirely unfamiliar, even new. Although she had been sitting there not ten minutes before, she was too busy wishing to be elsewhere, to notice.

She added her collection of firewood to the disorderly pile her brothers had created. The view was nice enough to make a new wallpaper; so Rachel grabbed her phone to take a few pictures, when her father sarcastically quipped, “You know, it looks even better without the megapixels.” Rachel was about to give her father the glare, but the cheeky smirk on his face completely disarmed her. “If you would direct your attention, on your right, you will see what is known as, grass. Those tall things behind you are called trees and the blue above, dotted with white puffy clouds, well that is called the sky. You learn something new every day.” In the face of her mother’s smile and wit, resistance was futile. Her only choice was to change her mood to something more amicable. Gesturing at her parents, she said, “You two have been together way too long; you’re equally annoying.” Confronted with the truth, and the mural created by the orange and pink hues as the sun took its leave, sinking slowly behind the distant mountains, Rachel finally began to see all that she was taking for granted.

As the evening wore on, Dad piled the firewood in a more orderly fashion and set it ablaze. Rachel helped her mother prepare a sumptuous meal, which was certain to be followed immediately by a delectable combination of marshmallow, chocolate and graham crackers. Thankfully, her brothers would be free to bounce off the walls of their own tent. Rachel had her own.

As transcendent as the firelight was, the choreographed display performed by the fireflies was far superior; their musical accompaniment provided by calls of the wild and the rhythm of the waves as the lake lapped against the shore. As the symphony played, Rachel was mesmerized by the ability of something so simple, to be so enthralling and extraordinary. “How have I never paid attention to this before?” she said. “Well, if you tried looking out the perfectly good windows we have at home, you would have noticed things like this. They came with the house when we bought it.” Without redirecting her gaze, Rachel replied, “Thanks Dad. I’ll try to remember to use them when we get home.” When they had finished their dessert, Rachel decided to go bed. She took one last look at the tapestry of darkened sky and brilliant stars beyond the dazzling green glow, and determined that the next day would be a time of reacquaintance with nature. She settled into her tent with the glow of the moon beaming through her window and fell asleep.

“Rachel, Rachel, get up!” Her brothers’ voices bellowed through her tent window. “Ugh. Where are your owners?” she drowsily queried. Daniel and Lucas scampered away giggling. Rachel crawled out of her sleeping bag and pulled herself together. She unzipped her tent and stepped out into the cool morning breeze, punctuated with aromas of flowers and pine cones as it blew across the serene crystal-clear water of the lake nearby. “Good morning,” her parents chirped in unison. “Here, have some breakfast.” She took the plate from her mother and made herself comfortable on the wooden bench. “Thank you. You know, this is actually not as unbearable as I thought it would be. The company, could be better; but the surroundings are superb.”

Rachel cheekily smiled at her parents but her gaze was averted by the flight path of a yellow breasted robin. She watched as it came to rest in the nearby grass field; the thin green stalk bent further and further under the weight of the small feathered body. The robin seemed entirely unfazed by its predicament. Rachel watched intently to see what would happen. To her shock, the stalk of grass didn’t break and the robin seemed to enjoy its sojourn there, tweeting and basking in the early morning sun. The stalks of grass danced back and forth, waving nonchalantly at the wind’s command. Still the robin seemed unbothered. Rachel tried to understand how the robin could feel so comfortable in what she deemed to be a precarious situation and how something as thin and fragile as a stalk of grass, could bear such weight. She pondered these thoughts as she finished her breakfast and got ready for the nature walk her mother had planned.

“Everyone ready?” her father asked. They grabbed their gear and in single file, started off on their walk. Daniel and Lucas ran ahead excitedly, talking loudly and giving their parents grief. She marveled at their excitement and wonder on discovering a ladybug resting on a twig or their intense conversation about an oddly shaped rock. Rachel, with more excitement this time, strolled through the towering green sentinels with their broad strong trunks, thankful that they were providing a little shade from the warm sun. The pebbled path crunched beneath her feet as she continued on this journey of rediscovery, taking the opportunity to capture as many moments as possible with her camera, as though she wanted to take the entire scene home with her.

After a while and a short climb, her parents stopped in a clearing on the edge of a hill. Rachel was awestruck at the entirely different picture before her. She realized firstly, that the trees here were different. Their strong trunks were smooth and slender. Their branches, reaching ever upward and outward, intertwined upon meeting each other, rather than struggling to get above the others. This intricately woven canopy of branches and leaves left very little space for the sun to shine through; but in its indomitable fashion, it managed to inject a few small rays of light. Rachel put out her hand to feel the texture of the trees. She looked up to admire the intricate pattern of the canopy above her. She was so captivated that she was oblivious to the fact that her parents were watching her. “See anything you like?” her mother sarcastically queried. When Rachel turned around, she saw the look on her parents face that she knew all too well; the look that translates to, “I told you so.” She laughed and humbly replied, “Yes, everything.” 

She realized at that point that she was allowing herself to focus too much on the virtual, rather than the reality that surrounded her. “There is one more thing to see.” Her father stepped closer to the edge and gestured for her to join him. When she did, Rachel gained a new understanding and respect for nature. The painted canvas before her was composed of gray majestic mountains that seemed to pierce the cumulus clouds. The blue lake, edged in white foam and white sand, glistened under the brilliant sun, casting millions of diamonds across its rippling surface. The water was so clear she could see directly to the bottom. Bits of driftwood and smooth white stones dotted the sand as schools of fish swam by intermittently. Lush green trees lined the banks of the lake on either side.

Rachel decided to sit for a while and survey all that lay before her. It was almost overwhelming and at the same time, satisfying and calming. Her brothers and parents sat on either side of her on the grass. She realized then that she was also taking them for granted. Like her family, she knew that nature existed but never really gave it any time or attention; neither did she make any effort to learn anything from it. She was so disappointed in herself for allowing all of this magnificence to go unnoticed, and forgetting how lucky she was. In the hours of daylight that remained, with Daniel holding her hand, she made the determination to appreciate both the things and the people that combined to form her world.