WHEN SHE WATCHED THE SKY RAIN GOLD

By Daddy

Kaydon with baby Lucas

November 19, 1995 – To Our Daughter Kaydon

At just over one month of age – she was ready for her first mountain trek. It was to be her second hike already in this young life of hers and she was proving to us that she welcomed an unpaved world.

On this November morning – when sleep is as valuable as the rising stocks of this Saturday morning’s business page – we three decided to venture – beyond the world of pillows and warm sheets – to a world - a young girl had never seen.

We packed up the wagon with a supply of baby essentials – milk, diapers, extra clothes, and plenty of adventurism.

We arrived just past midday at our destination – William Heise Regional Park near Julian, California. We were prepared for a typical cool autumn day with heavy shirts and sweaters, but we were rather – greeted by a typical Santa Ana – minus the winds – day.

Kaydon, after a quick change of clothes, was ready to hit the trail. This day would take her higher than she had ever been in her young life. Her bluing eyes – wide as the heavens above – gathered in like a vacuum, this peaceful world that greeted us.

With some anxiety stirring within me, we decided to set forth on a trail that we had never hiked. Maps to me appear as lines drawn on an artist’s desk – lines that exist for a moment, but disappear when paper is folded. Although essential for safety, they often publish trails too busy with foot traffic.

It is soon evident after fifteen minutes that once again the lines have disappeared and we find ourselves smiling and saying, “Where ever we go – it’s still a beautiful day.”

The trail starts out rather steep and Kaydon chooses to nap as Lisa carries her just behind me. Now and then, as the sun gently shines upon her rosy cheeks, she sneaks a peek and cracks an ever so slight smile. It is, though, a smile, a sign that her heart is awash in love, with a mother’s heart beat against her tiny body and a soft mountain breeze to caress her. It is the purest of smiles.

As the wind slows – this mountain world comes to almost a complete stop. Quiet reigns, but for a moment, broken only occasionally by the flutter of a scrub jay’s wings or some other bird – until the soft wind returns.

Today the wind is a welcomed friend – its coolness – chasing the heat from our necks and drying the dampness on our brows. But aside from its cooling benefits, it brings with it a bit of magic so evident on this autumn day.

As the trail winds down the mountainside, we find ourselves walking beneath a canopy of Black and Canyon Live Oaks. The contrast of the Black Oaks’ yellowing leaves and black branches against a mountain sky so blue is so pleasing to the eye. It is here – while stopped to admire its riches, that a young girl’s sleepy eyes crack open. Perhaps her young ears detect a yawning earth – as a breeze soon begins to comb through the tree tops. What happens next – is one of the reasons this place pulls me back.

Tugged loose from their slumbering branches – dozens upon dozens of black oak leaves yellowed by an autumn clime – float down from above in a golden shower, to the waiting earth.

No longer showing sleepy eyes, Kaydon looks up at the falling gold – with pure amazement filling her eyes – an ever so slight a smile breaks out again. On this autumn day it is the purest of smiles.  At that moment I too feel my heart awash in love convinced by the site of a little girl who watched the sky rain gold.

I love you Kaydon.