You wanted me to carry you, and I did at first. But once we stepped off the pavement, I set you down. You took a few tentative steps, then off you went. I was so moved by your bravery. Did you know where we were?

I can still hear your giggles as you ran ahead of me. I must confess, I had a selfish reason for bringing you out there. I wanted to get a photograph of you, walking towards me, perfectly framed. But you were so excited, moving around so much that it was tough to focus the lens. Walking backwards didn’t help me either!

It wasn’t working, so I let you run ahead of me. You’d run for a while then turn around to check whether I was still there 🙂

Then, off you’d go again – stumbling forward, running on the path, towards the beautiful sunset.

More than making a few photographs, I loved seeing your wonder and hearing you say, “Woooow” when you first saw the path ahead. I loved waiting for you to turn around to look for me.

I want you to love the world. I want you to see wonder and beauty where you look. It will be oh so hard at times, but I want you to always seek out Beauty.

Eyes wide open, dear boy.

Love, your hiking buddy (Aunty Chinwe)