“You’re doing the Camino?” he asked. “Did you start practicing yet?” “No,” I replied sheepishly. “But it’s not until May, so I’ve got time.” He looked at me with wide eyes. “You should be out there – at least an hour every day.” It was August, 2011. I was not planning on starting my preparations…
Category: 7/7/11
Why Wait?
“Do you always come down here with someone else?” I asked Lois last night at dinner. “Oh, no. No need to wait that long,” she said. My sentiments exactly. If we wait for the ideal travel partner (or any travel partner, for that matter), we may never go. So when people say, “You’re doing all…
Talking to Strangers: In Small Towns
“Meet my future wife,” he said as he introduced me. This was the first I’d heard we were engaged. I’d only met him two hours earlier, but apparently I’d made an impression. I’d left Virginia Beach around eight that morning, plugged “Raleigh, NC” into my GPS, then hit the button to avoid highways. Why? Well,…
A Day of Freebies
“You don’t happen to have any more change, do you?” I asked the guy filling his parking meter behind mine. I had decided to lighten my load of change into a tip jar at a local coffee shop earlier, which didn’t bode well for my current situation: parking at a meter in DC to meet…
A Stop Along the Way
As we fiddled with the buckle across the toes on a pair of sandals, I said to the saleswoman “Well, once we get it right, I hope I never have to change them again.” “If you do, you could just come back,” she responded. “Well, I’m actually moving to North Carolina,” I said. “Oh really? …
And She’s Off!
“How long does it take to get down there?” he asked as I piled boxes and bags into my car. “Well, I think it’s 12 hours or so, but I’m taking two and a half weeks,” I told him. “Two and a half weeks?” he asked, his eyes wide with amazement. “Yeah – I’m stopping…
The Furniture
“You can take the end tables,” I said to my parents. I started clearing them of their lamps, taking the coasters out of their drawers. “But what about the lamps? You’ll need light in the next week,” my mother said. “Honestly, mom, the only light I ever turn on in this room is that one,”…
A Home for My Piano
“I’ve been thinking of moving to someplace cheaper,” my friend said. “Well, my apartment will be available on July 15,” I told her. She pondered this for a second, then asked the details. Where was it? How long would it take to get to the college from there? How much was the rent? The answers…
Letting Go
“What’s the sob sorry you keep telling over and over – to yourself, to your friends. You know, the one about why your life isn’t working out the way you want it….” I don’t remember his exact words, but everyone in the room knew what he meant. We all had that story – running on…
RenaissanceRebecca 