Wild With Child Unleashed!

At last. It's been a long road between when I wrote the article and now--but here it is at last. Here's a sneak peak at "John One Eye"--the article I wrote for the anthology.

“Back long ago in the days when I was a pirate,” said my husband Michael, adjusting the bandana around his head, “I met a man named John One-Eye. He was old even then, and he told me about some treasure he hid in the forest. Do you want to come and look for it with me?” He knelt down under the tree where our son Rowan and his five-year-old friends sat spellbound.
The children’s eyes widened with wonder. “Yes,” they whispered.
Michael smiled and stood up. “Then come with me.” He beckoned and eight children fell into line.
“Let’s look under the cedars. Do you see anything there?” Michael bent low and crawled under the overhanging branches of a cedar tree. The children followed him into the clearing. They scurried around, peering over roots and under branches.
“Nothing here,” said Rowan.
“Then we’ll have to go farther along the trail.”
I smiled and walked back to the picnic table to wait. I was glad for a few minutes to myself, to listen to the quiet of the park, and the noises of children having fun. I could hear them as they squealed in delight when Michael pretended to ask a duck if he had seen any treasure. They wandered along the path, searching among the salal and hostas and running in the grass just for the fun of it, until at last Michael led them to a stand of pines.
I set the picnic table with orange plastic birthday plates and blue cups. The sun was strong for an April morning. Not far off I heard, “Here it is! Here it is!” Rowan spied it first, but sixteen little hands reached upwards as Michael lowered the box down and pulled off the lid. Inside were cake and strawberries, and little goodie bags for each child.
The children gathered around the table. Their faces were flushed from running, and their hands stained red from strawberries. “Was your dad really a pirate?” said a small voice, muffled with cake.
“Yeah,” Rowan nodded happily. Michael looked at me over the heads of the children and winked. And with that, a story was born.