I had forgotten that it makes sense to bring boots to the country side. You know, the kind that you don't mind getting all covered in mud during one of your morning hikes. I has also forgotten the lovely pungent smell of the cows, the fresh air, the wild flowers blooming in the fields, and the tranquility; oh how quiet it can be out here!
Far from Berlin, these past few days I've been back in my hometown for the first time in a long time.
While this sure isn't Jane Austen's Hampshire, my inner child is still quite excited! Bouncing up and down with joy, it's already looking for a jump rope and planning a tea party with its animal friends.
Sure, that also happens when an old tv commercial shows up on my Facebook feed advertising play toys from the 90s that light up and glow in the dark, or an old school friend shows up at my doorstep in Berlin; but here, it is different. Maybe because I was actually a child here. You know, growing up. But I also think the country side just does that to you.
The pace is different here. It's calmer, it's easy-going. Much like when you were a child and time would go by so slowly. The days would never seem to end, and you'd be bored out of your mind counting the rocks by the stream. Again.
These memories didn't keep me from collecting those rocks on my daily walks though, and one morning - overwhelmed by the loveliness of nature's beauty - I sat down to play an improvised game of tic tac toe.
All you need are four fairly straight sticks, two handfuls of tokens - really anything you can find lying around on the forest floor - and a second player. Tree stumps are perfectly suited as underlay.
The guy passing on his bike sure didn't get what was going on there in the bushes, but sometimes, Mr Stranger, you just have to let your inner child take over.
Who do you suppose won, Mr Pine Cone or Ms Acorn?
Happy Playing!
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