The Summer Rut

Summer is in full swing for Maura and I and we’re in a bit of a rut. It hasn’t been a summer for ambitious plans or even much activity. The weather has been hot and money has been short. We’ve stayed close to home most days and not found the energy to do much while we were here. I’ve been remiss as a parent and a travel writer. I’ve left Maura mostly to her own devices—which means she’s spent her time reading, playing video games and watching TV. At least a good deal of her time is spent with her nose in a book. I don’t have to make her read.

I’ve spent my days in front of the computer screen. I’m taking on-line courses in web design so time spent at the keyboard hasn’t been entirely wasted but I have not been as productive as I would like. I have not been writing.

We have managed a few activities besides our trip to Six Flags that I wrote about last week. Jennifer ran in the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge for the second consecutive year. She’s not a competitive runner but she did finish. Maura and I were there not far from the finish line to cheer her on as she limped by. Unlike last year we didn’t make it a father-daughter dinner night. There was no money in the budget for us to go out to eat, even for a hotdog. We had an early dinner of leftovers and then traveled into Boston where we sat on a bench in the Public Garden and read our books while the runners waited for the start, then made our way to the edge of the garden to see the finishers as they ran by.

Last week Maura started her formal summer activities. She’s in WeyRec activities at Great Esker Park again this year. The first week was tubing on the Back River, which should have been enjoyable given the heat early in the week but the session seemed to be under a curse. The tubers were bothered by bees and horseflies, swept away by currents (they wear life jackets and weren’t in any danger) and chased in by a thunder storm. Maura didn’t have nearly as much fun as she had the year before.

This week seems to be going better. She’s in “Survivor” learning how to build a fire and how to find food and water in the woods. She comes home tired and muddy every day but so far has always had a smile on her face.

WeyRec

Last weekend was a busy weekend for me but I had my fun without Maura. During the week Maura is having adventures without me. This week she is spending her afternoons going tubing on the Weymouth Back River as part of Weymouth Recreation summer activity program. She has been exploring the waters of the Weymouth Back River while floating in an inner tube. It is great fun for her on warm summer days. I think I’d enjoy it, too.

Tubing is only one of the many options that the Weymouth Recreation program offers. Two weeks ago Maura took a rock climbing class. Her group was bussed every day to the Quincy Quarries where old granite working faces make popular climbing routes. Maura also took swimming lessons at Lane Beach this year, as she has in previous years. She’s learned to swim in the tidal waters of the Fore River.  In past years Maura has explored the woods and salt marshes of Great Esker Park, along the Back River. She got to come home wet and muddy every day. She’s always enjoyed her summer activities.

Maura’s summer activities are only a small fraction of what the Weymouth Recreation program offers. The programs are offered to all children, not just residents of Weymouth, though Weymouth residents like us do pay lower fees and get to start registration earlier than non-residents.  Early registration gives Weymouth residents a better chance to get into the most popular programs which have limited spaces available and can fill up quickly.

Ready to Roll

Maura received a bicycle for her birthday last year but for various reasons it sat in our shed for most of a year unridden. Our street, though fairly quiet, is still too busy for bike riding lessons and last fall we had no way to transport the bicycle to a better location. New England winters are not good times to be out on a bicycle. Now that it’s nearly summer and fair weather is expected it is time Maura learned to ride her bike. Last weekend we took the time to give her some lessons.

Our first lesson was Saturday afternoon. Once I had figured out how to mount the bike rack to the trunk of the Toyota we strapped Maura’s Hannah Montana bicycle on to it and headed to Great Esker Park where I was sure we would find a good place for Maura to ride. While the park’s most notable feature is the esker of its name, a long, steep-sided hill, near the parking lot is one of flattest places in Weymouth. A smoothly paved path that circles the ball field there is an ideal place for a bike lesson.

On Saturday I started out holding the handlebars and seat of the bike while I walked alongside reminding Maura to pedal. Soon I was letting go to jog behind her for a little while before she fell over or ran off the path out of control. Every time she fell over Maura got back on the bike with a smile on her face ready to try again. She hadn’t yet mastered bike riding by the time we had to go home for supper but she made a lot of progress.

We were back on Sunday afternoon for another lesson. While she still lost control of the bike often she was clearly getting her balance. Now instead of jogging right behind her while she pedaled slowly and unsteadily for a few yards I was running to catch up while she rode halfway around the circuit before losing control. She had a great time despite a skinned knees and I’m confident that she’ll be riding like a pro before school’s out for the summer.

Maura’s cheerful persistence in trying to ride her bike is heartening to me. She’s learned one of the lessons I’ve tried to teach her—that it is worth working at something until you get it right if it is something worth doing at all. I know that it is a lesson she will forget from time to time. I know I do. Still the better she learns it now the better she will be at dealing with failure and frustration when she needs to learn a difficult skill or one that gives her less pleasure.

Natural Wonder of Weymouth

Sunday was a perfect Indian summer day here in Weymouth. The weather was sunny with little breeze. The temperature was warm enough that I was comfortable outside without a coat. The weather won’t be better before spring. Jennifer decided that instead of her going to the gym the whole family would take a hike. I couldn’t have agreed more. Because I was late getting home from church because I had meetings to attend after services we decided to stay close to home. We decided to take our hike in Great Esker Park, which stretches along the Weymouth shore of the Weymouth Back River.

We had a lovely hike. The leaves left on the trees were in their fall colors of yellow and russet and the trails were carpeted with the leaves that had already fallen. We hiked over the esker, the long sinuous hill deposited by a long ago glacier that gives the park its name. Then we made our way down to the shore of the tidal Back River. Walking along the gravel beach that separates the open river from the salt marsh behind we got great views of the birds that feed there. Out in the river a flock of diving ducks were feeding, each diving one after another to feed in the depths of the river. A moment later they popped up to the surface, still in line. Behind them a great blue heron fed in the shallow water by an exposed sand bar. Overhead a marsh hawk flew.

Jennifer gave Maura the task of finding all the colors of the rainbow on our hike. She found them in order—red, orange and yellow leaves, green cedar trees, blue sky and purple berries still uneaten on the cat briar.

Great Esker Park is a jewel that the people of Weymouth should be proud of. The esker itself is a rarity. Many eskers have long since been mined away for gravel or leveled for building. The long stretch of undeveloped shoreline is equally rare in a populated area, especially so since the opposite shore in Hingham is also a park. Great Esker has many of the problems of urban parks. It is both neglected and heavily traveled. The paved trails are crumbling and graffiti covered; the unpaved trails are eroding. The busier parts of the park are strewn with trash. It is unfortunate that people don’t appreciate their park more. Perhaps then they would be inspired to keep it clean. Still enough of the natural beauty shines through to make Great Esker a natural oasis in a mostly man-made world.