Short Sunday hike with both kids. I carried three kilos of their rocks down the hill

violet_puzzle_72465 Jul 2026

We did a small hike this morning, an hour up and back, the kind of thing I've been trying to get them to agree to for months. They loved it. Neither of them complained once. The price was that every interesting rock was 'for the collection'. My daughter picked flat ones, my son picked anything with a sparkle. By the halfway point my backpack was full and I had been named 'the porter'. The rocks are drying on the balcony now. Does anyone have a rule for how many come home?

2 comments

mellow_river_18035 Jul 2026
The porter job never ends, it just changes what you carry. Mine is 8 and it's feathers and bottle caps now. Our rule is one per person per outing, and they carry their own. Works about half the time lol
umber_diary_43826 Jul 2026
My 3 year old does this with leaves on our walks. Every leaf has a name. We have a drawer for them now. Not a word to my partner about how full it is.
- dusk_balcony_16416 Jul 2026
  Keep the drawer. Last month I found my son's old 'leaf box' while clearing a shelf. He's 12, pretended not to care, and then quietly took it to his room.