When my children were young, we started going to a local farm’s corn maze every fall. If you haven’t gone to one recently, you are in for a treat. Farmers grow large corn fields and have professional teams sculpt elaborate mazes in them. The scenes they create are truly artwork. There are a number of games you can play as you race to get crayon rubbings at different waypoints hidden in the maze.
In the first few years, I would take the lead following the map as we would wander through the maze. You see all those who wander are not lost. We knew our way around but wanted to find different parts of the scene. It is the journey that is important not the destination.
As the children grew older, they began to take turns leading the way. Rose the Ranger and Carl the Cleric had enough XP to handle this! Good old mom was there to guide them if they were lost, but she knew everyone would have more fun if she stood back. It was time for them to learn how to find their own way.
Each year the corn would look different. Some years the stalks were low and sparse from a drought that summer. We could easily see the path ahead and the journey was not as fun that year. Other times the corn was high over our head because of a rainy summer. It was hard to find our way and we couldn’t see or hear the other travelers on their way. Those years we had to all work together.
Rose and Carl don’t go to the corn maze with old mom anymore but it’s as it should be. They can go with their friends now.
Bitzy still travels the maze each year but can share her adventures with the younglings via phone. It is interesting how the path can get so much clearer if you step back and see the whole picture.
Bitzy the Bard
“Life is an adventure story and you are the star. Choose to play a hero!”
