the wanderer

Jove is happiest when he is outside and free to explore. Lately he has been mentioning to me that he plans to be a "wanderer" when he grows up and he will backpack around and camp in the wilderness. He says he would marry but only have one child because you can't carry around a lot of children when you are wandering. One day we saw an RV on the way home from school and I explained what RVs are to him, he decided he should use his piggy bank money to buy one one day. When I ask him about how he plans to get food while he wanders, his answer varies from having me send it to him through the mail to growing it or collecting it himself. I love that he has uninhibited dreams about his future. He also says that maybe he'll be a science teacher (since teachers don't have to work all of the time, he says) or a marine biologist or he'll work with technology. He has told me to get more non-fiction books (books about real stuff, he calls them) because there is so much to learn about. I love talking to Jove right now.

Jupiter took Jove on his first overnight backpacking trip this summer after Jove got his own gear for his 6th birthday. Jove is tough, tougher than me, we both say. He will get dirty, hurt, walk long distances without complaint. He loves adventure and embraces life completely.

I find myself watching Jove get taller and more mature and I want to freeze him as his 6 year old free-spirited self... soak in his sense of wonder about the world... remember his goofy toothless grin... be patient with questions about RVs...