Spring Creek

Ever since we moved into this house, my favorite place to be is on my back porch. In the warm months, I can sit back there and listen to the crickets chirping and smell the night-blooming jasmine in the air. The tree frogs croak from the trees down in the spring creek that runs behind our property. Spring Creek is also a great place for kids to play, especially a young boy with an active imagination like my son.
Spring Creek is not very deep. In fact, in some places, I can step right across it. But it is wide and winds around our property for about half an acre. This gives the creek a very long bank and provides a lot of area to explore. The bank of the creek is mostly covered in trees and bushes. My son likes to pretend that he is an explorer deep in the jungle. There were a few times when I sat on the porch and watched him play for hours. He would take a long stick and knock on the trees, pretending that he was searching for animals. He would stop and examine the leaves on the bushes as if he were trying to discover new species of plants. He would lay down on the ground and listen to the sounds of the forest.
One Saturday morning, I was sitting on the back porch when I saw him run across the yard with a long stick in his hand. There was a look of determination on his face. My son walked into the creek and to my surprise started to measure the distance across the spring. He would take a few steps, place the stick on the ground, then walk a few more steps. He repeated this process down the entire length of the creek. I couldn’t figure out what he was doing.
“What are you doing, Buddy?” I asked.
“I’m measuring the creek,” he replied. “So that I know how far I can jump.”
For the rest of the day, my son would stand on the bank of the creek and pretend that he was a long jumper. He would take a few steps back, then he would sprint to the edge of the creek and jump as far as he could. Then he would measure his distance and make a mark in the dirt.
His jumping distances became a source of great pride for him. Whenever anyone came to visit, he would make sure to demonstrate his long-jumping abilities. He would jump and land with a big thud. Then he would measure his distance and hold up his arms in triumph.
As the days went by, my son’s confidence grew. He started jumping farther and farther. He eventually got to the point where he could jump across the entire creek. I was so proud of him. I knew he had the potential to do great things.
One day he came running into the house “Dad! Mom! Come quick, I did it!”
We ran to the edge of the creek and watched in amazement as he ran to the bank of the creek, jumped and landed on the other side. He had finally done it. He had jumped across Spring Creek.
I ran over and gave him a big hug. “I’m so proud of you, Buddy,” I said. “You did it.”
My son smiled and said, “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
I looked at him and said, “What do you mean?”
“You always believed in me,” he said. “You always told me that I could do it.” He paused, and then looked me in the eyes. “Thanks, Dad.”
I hugged him again. “You’re welcome, Buddy.”
We stood there for a moment, watching the creek flow by. I could hear the crickets chirping and smell the night-blooming jasmine in the air. It was a perfect moment.