The best picnic
I have always liked picnics, especially when they take place on a trip to a mountain area.
When I was young I used to live in Caracas and used to climb the Avila hill, and there in the majesty of the mountain, always surrounded by a natural environment, sometimes on the banks of a stream, we would have a meal; other times, I would go with my friends to the Parque del Este, a very large green area located in the capital of our country, Venezuela.
As I write this note I realize that these outings were always with friends, I don't remember any occasion where my parents were there, although I did go out a lot with them to the beach or to visit other relatives.
When I got married I kept the habit of going on picnics with my wife and children. Many times we would go up the mountain north of Maracay, until we found an area where it was foggy, there we would park the car and in any open field we would sit down to have our lunch.
Now that the children have grown up and left the country, my wife always organizes an outing with some friends to a country club near my house, and there they always share meals, cakes and cookies.
During the time of the pandemic my wife and I were very careful not to leave the house. We suspended all gatherings with friends and family. It was almost two years of confinement, and the truth is that we missed those outdoor gatherings.
The opportunity to go out again came in February of this year 2023, we took advantage of my mother's visit to Maracay. For different reasons we had more than three years without seeing each other. She could not come and we could not go where she lives, in Barquisimeto, a city about two hundred and fifty kilometers west of Maracay.
But in December of two thousand twenty-two, my mother informed us that she was going to visit us. I thought it would be difficult for her to come because at that time she was eighty-seven years old, now in June she turned eighty-eight. But she has always been a determined woman and when she says she is going to do something she does it.
So for the end of the year my mother gave us the surprise of coming to Maracay. But things did not turn out as she thought, because coincidentally in those days my brother and his family were attacked again, the covid 19, it was something very mild, nothing like the first time they got it at the beginning of the pandemic when my sister-in-law was very ill.
For safety measures my mother had to spend two weeks at my house without seeing my brother's family. After that time she went to him and we agreed to get together.
My wife and my sister-in-law prepared the departure for the last days of February. We asked my mother where she wanted to go and she told us that she had a long time without going to "Las Cocuizas", a park that she likes very much because it is located at the foot of the mountain, north of Maracay, and has many trees and a small river.
My wife and I made a cake and my brother and his wife took care of bringing a rice with chicken and vegetables, and papelón juice with lemon, a traditional drink in Venezuela.
We arrived at the park around noon. As it was during the week there were almost no people, so we looked for the kiosk that my mother liked the most, where there was good shade and she could see the river. We stayed there until four in the afternoon, the closing time of the park.
The time was quite short, we talked about many things. In this kind of meetings always comes out some new family story, it is impressive how many stories a family can keep.
It is also inevitable to talk about those who have left the country. My mother remembered the many times we took my children to run around the park when they were little, at that time she lived here in Maracay and we saw each other very often.
This was a very nice outing and a great picnic, we all agreed that at some point we should repeat it.
I make this publication motivated by the call of my friend @galenkp for the challenge of week 163.
Thanks for your time.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Logo creado por @themanualbot
Gathering with family and friends outdoors is a human need. Sharing with nature while we talk about everything we haven't done on our mobile phones and often not even at home; green areas open those doors for us.
By the way, don't underestimate older people, they have a youthful spirit, it is latent and they have an energy that young people today don't have.
Yes, contact with nature allows a different, more fluid and spontaneous relationship.
There are older people who are admirable, around my house there are a few, people in their seventies and eighties who have great social activity.
Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting dear @amigoponc . A big hug from Maracay.
It's good to enjoy the picnic with your mother, after having not seen them for two years, in a beautiful natural environment such as Las Cocuisas Park, greetings friend.
Those family outings are very important, sometimes one is neglected and stops doing it, but they are necessary.
Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting dear @cetb2008 . Blessings to the family.
Amen my friend
Your mother is a woman of great vitality. Although I don't do it that often, I think that nothing is more important than sharing as a family. After all, they are the ones who are there when others are gone. Nice experience you have shared with us, dear @irvinc. Best regards.