One of the challenges along the path is finding the center of needs and interests. It’s a balancing act and at times a circus when you have four very different beings. One point that seems to draw all of us in is the great outdoors. Nature is the centerpiece that never disappoints. Even when inclement weather comes uninvited we manage to find light and warmth in humor and togetherness.

Now the great indoors—probably a reason why it doesn’t wear that label well. Many years ago the mountains called to us and we spent a wonderful weekend in Western North Carolina. We made a parent executive decision to leave the peaks and caverns for the insides of the Biltmore House. Surely this historical setting would pique the interest of the boys!

Well, this is where the truth of different perspectives becomes transparent. Not very far into the tour, the mood started to flatten. The adults gazed while the boys’ eyes glazed. Politeness went out the window as the perfect setting for hide-and-seek was squelched in the name of dignity and decorum. 6-year-old Evan, a master of one-liners, sighed deep enough to ripple the velvet ropes as the tour crawled to the next of the 250 rooms. We paused and peered in and Evan offered, “Oh great, another room of old furniture.”

Point taken.

Pretty sure we didn’t make all 250 and the ones we did catch on a fly-by I saw with different eyes. I wondered if the antiques had ever been a fortress for a dirty-sock war, had ever felt the weight of a perfect belly flop or caught the crumbs of a stealthy pre-dinner snack. Not sure. But the sight of boys running away from the stately mansion on the expansive grounds, framed by the rising peaks … Well, it made the price of admission easier to swallow.