This painting's title was inspired by my experience as an overly-optimistic mother who aspired to having kids who would voluntarily go on walks with me. Like Linda Belcher, I romanticized the concept of the "family walk", leading mostly to the over-purchasing of "trail mix" [read smarties] and my own frustrations. However, the few occasions where the planets lined up exactly for me to have a good walk with my kids are memories I will always treasure (scroll to the bottom to see my favourite picture) as I bury the less pleasant ones.
'Breathe in, breathe out.'
As Emily stood at the stop of the hill, the tundra stretched out endlessly in front of her. A sight that this bear would have enjoyed on a solo journey. In her solitary travels, boundless space meant infinite opportunity, and a chance for quiet and reflection.
But for the small bear beside her, cresting the last ridge to find more of the exact same wild was the last straw. Had they not just left an identical wide open space of snow and ice? How many more would she be forced to march through before they found the "right" one?
To Penelope the wild expanse before her was not "endless opportunity", it was simply "endless".
So for the one hundred and fiftieth time since they had set out 20 minutes earlier, she flopped to the ground and moaned "I'm tiiiirrreed".
'Breathe in, breathe out,' Emily repeated in her head. "Come on, Pen, it's not that much further."
"That's what you said an hour ago!" her cub responded in an accusatory tone.
"Well if we didn't keep stopping," Emily said in as level a voice as she could muster, "then it wouldn't take so long."
"But I'm hungry!"
"You had a snack five minutes ago and we are literally walking to get food."
"But I'm still hungry now!" here Penelope rolled dramatically onto her back to demonstrate her desperation.
"The sooner we get there, the sooner you'll get food."
"But I can't take another step."
"Get up, Penelope." 'Breathe in, breathe out.'
Penelope stood up, took a single step, and collapsed theatrically to the ground. "I wish I could, but I have little legs. Go on without me, mother!"
Emily stared at the sky for a moment, closed her eyes as if that might help drown out the apocalyptic wailings of her offspring, repeated her mantra yet again in her head, and then decided it was time to just give in.
She lay on the ground next to the cub and sighed, "get up on my back; I'll carry you for a bit."
With a sudden burst of energy, unseen since the walk was first proposed, Penelope scrambled up onto her mother's back.
"But only for a bit - I'm not carrying you the whole way!" the mother bear declared as Penelope snuggled in against her shoulders.
She stood up and resumed their journey, fully resigned to the fact that she would indeed be carrying her cub the whole way.
'Breathe in. Breathe out.'
If you related this story you can find But I've Got Little Legs in my collections: