A Romanian Moment
Just the other day I took a walk with my dear friend Dre on the road that goes over the hills behind the house. I was hoping to have some time alone with her to chat, but a very chatty girl named Maria saw us walk by and came to join us, also bringing her friend Catalina. Quickly I realized that Dre and I were not going to have our chat, rather we were going to spend our time trying to figure out what Maria was talking to us about.
We walked past the homestead that had the big mean dogs and continued on to the lakes. Soon we came upon the weeping willows that line the lake side. At this point, had Maria not been there, I would have just walked by as any other day, but Maria insisted that we all take a turn swinging from the branches of the weeping willow. This is something I had always wanted to do since I was a child! I felt a little sheepish as I approached the tree, all its branches floating in the wind covered in small green leaves. I took an extra large bundle of branches knowing that at 25 years I carry quite a few more pounds than my 10 year old friend. I took a step back, nearly held my breath as I lifted my feet off the ground. And as simple as that, in just a few seconds, I was a little girl again, swinging from the branches of a tree.
We continued our walk, Maria led us away from the big mean dogs on the road way…”they bite” she says. We scampered up the hills, and got a beautiful view of the valley. Then as we came down the other side Maria and her friend picked wild flowers for us. Whites, pinks and yellows…all the beautiful colors of the Romanian hill sides were now gathered in to a bouquet that we held. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful walk with an unexpected friend.
