I had seen signs for the Fruitlands Museum in gorgeous Harvard, Massachusetts over the years and knew that it was an outdoor museum but I had no idea what it was all about. My daughter, Pyper, happened to be going to a nearby birthday party this past weekend so I decided to check it out.
According to my research, Fruitlands, inspired by Transcendentalism and Amos Bronson Alcott's (Louisa May’s father) ideas of societal reform, was established on 90 acres purchased by Charles Lane in May 1843. This was a type of Utopian community that was optimistically named "Fruitlands" despite having only a small number of apple trees. The community was based on self-sufficiency, using no hired labor and growing all the food they needed themselves. The members pledged themselves to a life of celibacy and a strict diet of fruit and raw vegetables, aiming to live simply and celebrate an intimate connection with the environment. The Fruitlanders influenced Henry David Thoreau. Certainly, these people were ahead of their time, as this was 1843. How cool is that? Unfortunately, the community ultimately failed because of the difficulty in growing crops and it was abandoned in January 1844.
When I arrived at the Fruitlands Museum, I realized that I didn’t have time to go through all the buildings but decided to take a walk through the woods. I asked the tour guide if there was “any way I could get lost” since I had about 90 minutes to get in and out and pick up my Pyper. She told me that all three trails were clearly marked. Red, orange and yellow.
Although I have become an avid walker the past six months (walking at least 4-6 miles six days a week), I have never been one to hike or one who likes being in the woods. But I also knew that these past 6 months of working out outside instead of in a stuffy gym really opened me in way that I never expected. I really enjoy seeing the blooming flowers, the brightly colored birds, feeling the breeze on my face, seeing cows, horses, chipmunks, and squirrels and smelling the lilacs. Map in hand, despite the warning signs to watch out for ticks (and knowing that I had no DEET which I liberally shower myself in before doing any yard work) and poison ivy, I bravely went into the woods.
I stayed on the orange trail, looking at abandoned sites and the hollowed out cellar of an old house. It was fascinating and so peaceful. At one point, I did look up and see that I was now on the red trail but just thought, oh well, I will get back to the orange trail at some point.
About one hour into the walk, I GOT LOST. Only I could get lost in this place, I am sure. I followed a sign to the orange trail that took me way off the trail into very high, tick-filled grass, poison ivy and rustling in the woods. I looked at my BlackBerry (which was on low battery) and made a call to my children's father and left a out of breath message that I was lost in the Fruitlands and that I would eventually make it out but that I had to pick up Pyper and had to be out of there in 30 minutes to make it back to the other side of Harvard and then my phone died.
All I could think of is that my daughter needs to know that I will be there at 2PM. She (and everyone else) knows that if I am not where I say I will be at the time I will say I will be, I am probably DEAD or in trouble. Very, very punctual person I am. She would be heartbroken and so worried. I felt a rush of adrenaline and literally SPRINTED (and people who know me, know I DO NOT LIKE TO RUN…EVER) my way back up the orange trail, to the red trail and eventually realized I needed to get to the yellow trail (you know, I finally looked at the map).
I am not going to lie…I asked for spiritual guidance to led me out of there. I asked the angels, God, Buddha and every other spiritual being to help me find the way out of there in time to get my child. At one point, I headed left and heard a voice in my head that said “NO, not that way…turn around”…I ran a little further and there it was...the way out!
I had five ticks on my pants, was very sweaty and looked like a hot mess. When I got to the car, I looked at the time on my clock. 1:50PM. I had exactly 10 minutes to get my daughter and I arrived back at Harvard Lanes at 1:59 PM.
Now, the moral of this story for me is that I should probably not hike alone, nor with leopard sneakers (and those, my favs, are basically toast), nor without water. But the real lessons learned are...
1) I love hiking! Who knew???
2) A mother’s instinct to protect her child, to honor her commitment to her child and to get to her child is a crazy strong thing that completely kicks in when necessary and never LETS YOU DOWN.
3) Ask for spiritual guidance when necessary and you will receive it. Ask and you shall receive. Asking for help doesn't make you weak; it makes you strong.
Am I going to go back? Yes, as soon as I can (and as soon as the little patch of poison ivy on my ankle goes away). This time with hiking boots. Leopard ones, of course.
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