The Summer of Charlie

The phrase "living his best life" is a bit overused these days, but I don't know how else to describe Charlie's summer.

He spent at least half of it away from home on these amazing backpacking, hiking, camping trips with his boy scout troop... And they went to some incredible places.

Every part of me has wished and prayed for my kids to want to have experiences like this, and to get to have experiences like this... 

I believe it grounds us and connects us and makes us appreciate life in a deeper and more profound way... 

It is life changing.

Charlie would be off the grid for days ... we wouldn't hear from him... I would look at my FindMy app hourly seeing if I could locate him (I couldn't help myself)...  

On two different occasions, my phone rang (after him having no service for days)... it was Charlie, and he would say to me "My cell reception is really bad, I just had to call to tell you how beautiful it is here. You have to come see this someday. I'll send pictures as soon as I can..."   And my heart would skip a beat knowing he was aware enough of the moment to take pause and soak it in.... and that he wanted to share it with me...  💙

And then I would receive these pictures that would completely blow my mind... He is so good at spotting beauty and knowing exactly how to capture it. 

Makes my outdoors-loving, hiking-loving, photography-loving mommy heart weepy.

All the photos above were taken from Grayson Highlands in Virginia. This was part of a week long trip he took to North Carolina and Virginia where they spent time in Asheville, visiting the Biltmore Mansion, hiking in the Appalachian Mountains, and also biking the Virginia Creeper Trail. 

Following that trip, he spent a week camping in Mt. Juliet, TN at Camp Boxwell, which is an annual trip for his troop.

Not nearly as picturesque, but he still had a spectacular time roughing it with his friends.

And then the king daddy trips of them all...  Charlie went to New Mexico to experience Philmont, which is the pinnacle of Boy Scout backpacking trips. 

He was gone for 8 days. He hiked nearly 50 miles. Carried his clothing, food, and shelter on his back. Dealt with daily rainfall. Saw some of the most spectacular scenery. Grew at least a foot in height - and even more than that as a person. You can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice when he talks about it ... it was a monumental experience for him. It will forever stand out as a favorite childhood adventure.

Look at these gorgeous photos he created 💙

All the while, I was back at home staring endlessly at this...

Something about it that feels so wrong... yet, so perfectly right.

While it's bittersweet being in this new phase of life with my kids... them, off without us, having amazing, life changing experiences... I couldn't wish for anything more.  

This is what it's all been about the whole time... wanting them to live their fullest lives and embrace adventure, new experiences, new friends, new places...   

Charlie Aaron Hatcher...  Oh, the places you'll go.