What is my mother thinking sending me through the woods by myself? Besides the fact that I'm only seven and I have a big basket to carry I'm wearing RED: the color of warning…. Or blood some might think. There's all kinds of things in this woods not just Flowers. Present are trees, big bad wolves and bears and lions and tigers oh my. It must be some kind of joke. Also my grandmother is sick so why isn't my mother taking care of her mother instead of sending a little girl? I'll go, but reluctantly. What if something happens to me who's going to know,? I wish my daddy were here to walk with me. By the way, where is he? My mother seems so frail and perhaps doesn't even have good parenting skills to be sending me through the forest alone. I don't think Granny's going to approve but maybe she’s too sick so she won't say anything. If she were well she'd be scolding my mother for such a thing. Granny worries about me and loves me the most. My red garment was made by her own hands with love. I'm wearing a dress underneath but I think I should have worn pants.  After all there's ticks and other kinds of things out there. I wish I wasn't alone….I'd feel much better.

Well I'm ready to go and so I take a deep breath and with a heavy heart, I'm off!. If not for the love of my granny I might not make it all the way but I'm thinking of how much she needs me and loves me so I'm going. As I approach the thickness of the trees I see flowers and they make me happy. I begin to sing… pretty soon all of the fear is washed away. 

I see something very large behind a tree and I wonder if it's Bigfoot, you know Sasquatch. I don't think he's going to hurt me because I'm so darn cute and innocent. I stop to carefully ponder what my next move will be. I think I should move slowly and cautiously so that this large creature isn't threatened by my approaching it. Whatever it is, it's big and brown and hairy!  Apparently the creature is wearing some kind of weird sheep costume that doesn't look very sheepish. At first, I don't make eye contact. I think that's best although I am just a child. I'm wondering if I'll be banking this as one of my “inner child” experiences that I'll have to deal with later in life. Oh my word now the thing is talking asking me where I'm going…. what? Creatures don't talk. I must be imagining all this. I tell myself it's really just a tree that looks like a creature…isn't it? I'm going to pretend I don't see it and be on my merry way. I'm also going to pick some flowers for granny because I love her so much.

I hear wood chopping very near by and I follow the sound.  Yes…I can see its Daddy and he is here to save me.  He has built a small house on our property for Granny.  I see the smoke coming out the chimney and so I ask how she got there?  My daddy revealed the surprise of my life!  When Granny became gravely ill my parents were told to keep her close by so they could assist her easily.  Mommy knew all this and sent me out to the old shack knowing I would find Daddy and Granny safe and sound in her new tiny house…just steps away, but hidden in the groves.  The voice I heard was a speaker mounted near the tree to scare away any scary forrest creatures.  Now I can skip over to Granny's, anytime, without fear.  My parents are good people and good children to care so deeply for their own parent, but also for me.  I never saw that big hairy creature again.  I saw my Granny everyday and she lived a long happy life because of all the love she could possibly imagine!