The Woods by Day or by Night (July 5)

Exploring the woods behind the cottage was the ideal way to prospect for discoveries to record in Grandpa’s ledger of annual revelations. And Granny and I never missed an opportunity to contribute.

“At first, we used to walk side by side along the footpath near the Wash. But our practice … changed … [when] Granny began sending me down the lagoon in my rowboat. I steered a few yards offshore. She stayed abreast of me on dry land …

“‘Keep your eyes open, Robbie. You check from your side and I’ll watch from mine.’ It was a good tactic … Very little escaped us.”

But whenever we went out after dark, “we both took the path… Navigating stealthily to avoid dry leaves and brittle twigs required constant attention. As a result, our hearts beat wildly at the slightest commotion in the nearby undergrowth.”

It was a ritual Granny invited me to enact as often as possible, and “after nearly every late-night adventure, we walked back without speaking. I went first. My role in that position was difficult to ascertain. I could not be sure if she simply followed me or if, in fact, her vigilance was guiding me step by step. Perhaps both. My grandfather used to observe that with Granny there was usually more than met the eye.”

Providence Point, pp. 92-3, 96

Outings of that nature not only offered opportunities for knowledge to pass from generation to generation, but also promoted bonding that lasted a lifetime. Mentors, we may conclude, can come in diverse forms, many of them quite unexpected. Other cheering instances await readers throughout the pages of Providence Point. You can order your own copy via the links on this site.

Do such experiences ring a bell for you? If so, perchance you’d like to leave a comment.

(Illustration generated by AI)