I Have a Feeling We're Not in Kansas Anymore....

I pretty much follow an ‘early to bed; early to rise pattern.’ At this stage in life I am relatively healthy, although I’m waiting on the other two payoffs to come to fruition. Last night, however, the early to bed part seemed rather elusive. Unable to sleep before Anna got home, I had stayed up later than normal. I had just turned off the light when Parker came home and asked if I was awake. Yes. I was. He came in, plopped on the bed and proceeded to say, “I think I might have forgotten to tell you that I’m going to Kansas for a couple of days.”

Indeed, this was the first I had heard of it. I asked when he was going. He replied, “Tomorrow.”

I asked why. “To see a movie.” A movie. In Kansas?

After reminding him that we had a movie theater a mere two miles from our house, he told me this was a ‘special’ movie. Apparently IMAX is showing Tornado Alley but they forgot to show it in Colorado, and Parker really wanted to see it. He is a tad obsessed with large tornados and enjoys watching the Storm Chasers cable show. This being the final week that it will be shown in Kansas, it was time to get on the road!

I asked if anyone was going with him. He said, yes, his friend Sarah was going. He went on to say that everyone else had responded a bit like I had (“Driving to Kansas to see a movie?”), except Sarah who had said, “Let’s go!” That seemed to be all it took to get a plan going. Oh, and they would be camping.

In Kansas.

I tried really hard to think of something that sounded more horrible than camping in Kansas and only a few things came to mind. Most of them involved bodily torture. But, he was excited to be going and I wasn’t about to be the wet blanket on the camping in Kansas fun! And really, who doesn’t love extreme heat, humidity and mosquitoes?

This morning he was up early finding the tent and camping equipment. Sarah arrived and just before they left, Parker mentioned that he needed to get a pillow. It was at this point that Sarah realized that she had planned for food but had failed to plan for a sleeping bag or pillow. Parker got her a sleeping bag, I got her a pillow. I asked if they had bug repellent. No, that hadn’t occurred to them. I gave them multiple bottles of bug spray. A quick hug, a quick mom admonishment not to drive like a maniac and to be aware that semi-trucks are larger than his little Mazda, and they were on their way.

Two hours later, Parker called to say that they had a flat tire and were walking the mile to the tire store. I assumed this meant they were walking along I-70 but I tried not to think about it. Last I saw Sarah, she had on cute little fashion sandals. Parker said he hoped that he could just have the tire plugged rather than purchasing a new one and, if not, they would probably spend the rest of their lives in Byers. Nevertheless, nothing in his voice indicated that he was nonplussed by the situation. They were still enthusiastic to continue the adventure.

I haven’t heard from him since then. Which, didn’t bother me until just now as I am writing this.

The frivolity and spontaneity of it all made me smile. The lack of preparation made me laugh. It caused me to reflect on the numerous times I’ve embarked on adventures equally as hair-brained and the delightful memories that followed.

Far too often, as we age, we forget to throw caution to the wind and just live. The planning and preparation can help make the trip more comfortable…but I wonder if sometimes we don’t suck the joy out of the journey with so much preparedness.

But then, I suspect they will appreciate not having to fight mosquitoes all night. Perhaps there is a happy medium in there somewhere. Regardless, their capricious little adventure reminds me to live in the moment. Even in Kansas.