woods-ing

            The woods bring back memories of playing Wind in the Willows with my cousins, and I hold my breath to hear the silence that fills the trees. Nicole and I find mushrooms. I poke them with a stick and christen myself Mushroom Explorer. In the distance there is children's laughter, and we turn a bend to see a little boy trip as he runs down the hill after his older brother.  He flies into the air like Superman and crashes in a pile of brittle Oak leaves. He quickly brushes himself off and then he is in pursuit again. I smile at his earnestness; toddlers even stumble with zeal.