I Ran Away From Home

Some iteration of this will probably end up on my business site, too, but I wanted to start here, on the good ol’ Kat Box.
Yesterday, my plans changed at the last minute and instead of a full day of scheduled work in front of me, I had half a day of freedom staring me in the face.
I woke up and the first thing I thought of was that I was totally not making breakfast for all these people in my house. All these people could fend for themselves! I threw on clothes and tiptoed out the door before anyone could ask anything of me.
Because I party like a rock star, I went to the post office for stamps. Yes, I still mail things; I know that’s totally old school, but the act of writing checks and applying stamps to envelopes helps me remember that I actually completed the entire bill paying task.
I went to Lowe’s to return something. Yeah, still partying.
I had several other grownup things on my mental to-do list…but I said (out loud, because, alas, most of my talking to myself is out loud), “Fuck it.” I decided to run away for a while, out of cell phone range.
I drove to the Hot Spot, same one I used to go to for a Dr. Pepper on the way to school when I was a teenager. I loaded up a few provisions, put on my sunglasses, and took myself up into the woods. The Bent Creek Experimental Forest around Lake Powhatan is one of my favorite places to hide out, and it’s been that way since I was able to drive myself there.
Driving and driving up the winding dirt road, I was grateful for the recent rain so there weren’t dust clouds. I was excited to see there was no one parked at my favorite pull off spot.
Out of the car and a walk down the steep hill…in moments, my shoes and socks were off and I was out in the middle of the cold creek. If you aren’t from this mountain area, you might think a cold creek on a sunny day is cool and delightful: you need to know it’s really really really cold—cringe-inducing cold. Yep, you will get used to it if you wade a while but it’s not the happy splashing BS of Mountain Dew commercials; it’s just plain cold…but I love it. I ruin many perfectly lovely pedicures with my passion for wandering out into creeks full of rocks and twigs and such. I love the shimmer of the sun across the water, the tadpoles swimming along in the shallows, even the bugs scooting across the surface.
I spent a while in the creek, a wading meditation, I guess. I spent a while on a rock watching butterflies. I spent a while on a log watching bees buzz around the flowers. I spent a while just walking in the quiet. When I walked back up to the car, I was surprised to see how many hours had passed.
I made my way back home, and no surprise, they’d managed to fend for themselves. All was right in the world, and so was I.