| As the mother of 3 grown boys/men, I've often been frustrated at my attempts to have good converstations with them. There are so many distractions during a regular visit at home and settings like a meal seem to apply a lot of unspoken pressure to talk. Meals usually result in either one word answers to questions or neutral, impersonal topics. Hiking, however, is a perfect setting to really have conversation. The distractions are few and the hours spent walking allow time for a natural flow of conversation. Sometime childhood memories are re-examined with adult perspective or explinations of past family events are explored. Mothers and daughters have shopping, beauty appointments and other natural things to bond around, but hiking has turned out to be an outstanding setting for this with my sons. |
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