Broad River Greenway

On the last night of our trip at the Childlight Conference, many of us gathered at the Broad River Greenway for a nature hike and listened to Janet Pressley play her awesome blues in an old cabin in the humid air, watching (and of course catching) fireflies. I wish I could have bottled a few and brought them home for our kids to see.



Now I do consider myself quite the naturalist, I mean I have been hiking for over 2 years now, field guide ever on hand, able to identify the many birds, plants and bugs of our native chaparral. Ever on the lookout for an off trail adventure... but North Carolina was a different world completely.



Everything was foreign to me. Dense forest with trees that extended way into the sky, a drenching humidity, oak leaves shaped like the ones you only see in books and other interestingly shaped leaves like sassafras and tulip. And the bugs, the BIG bugs, oh my!







As my confidence escaped me, a gal came traipsing out of the brush with capri's on - meaning bare legs! Wasn't that poison ivy? Completely vibrant, she was pointing off in the brush saying "That's where I want to go!" I was in awe.

I later came to learn that gal's name was Lisa Echtor, mother of, I believe, seven children. Kristine and I also met Jeanette Tulis that night on that walk and after a little bit of talking came to find out that both of these ladies were early adopters of the Ambleside curriculum 'way back when'. What an amazing connection!

We later had milkshakes at McDonald's and talked about books and homeschooling and babies and training children and everything else that matters in our realm of life. What a treat. It amazed me how much we can have in common with total strangers through a Charlotte Mason Education.

Jeannette, I later found out writes a monthly editorial for the Chattanooga Southeast Tennessee Home Education Association. You can read her editorials here. They have been a wonderful encouragement to me.

Here's a picture of me, Kristine, and Jodi Meiter, another first time Childlight attendee. We hope you'll join us next year!