Open Road

This weekend I took a little trip over to the Seattle side of the state. I needed to give a YWAM (http://www.ywam.org) friend a ride home to Renton. I have some friends who live in Orting, which is just a little bit south of Tacoma. I've been telling them I would visit ever since they bought their house three years ago. I finally made it this weekend. It's amazing that it's taken me so long to get over there. These are really good friends of mine. I guess life just happens.

In any case, I was going to come home Sunday night, but they closed Snoqualmie Pass due to rock slides. I decided to leave Monday morning instead (more daylight), and go down through Vancouver so that I could visit another friend on my way home. Why not! It's not like I get to see these people very often. So I stopped and had lunch with my friend, got caffeinated, and headed down Hwy 84, along the Columbia River Gorge, to come back to the Spokane area.

On my way from Orting to Vancouver I was having lots of crazy ideas. I mean, things that I could do with my time...with my life. I had a lot of interesting conversations this weekend. It was very refreshing. My friends are just so balanced. They are so wise. Sometimes they just help you get things in perspective. So that was great, and then there was the trip itself.
There is just something that happens to me when I am on a road trip. All of the things that don't make sense just sort of clear out of my brain while I am driving. I get recharged. A couple of years ago I drove home from San Diego by myself, and it was great. I had always wanted to take a drive that long by myself. Don't get me wrong, sometimes it's nice to have company, but I love to take trips by myself.

While I was with my friend Renee in Vancouver, we had a nice talk about life and what we are doing with it. We laughed at some of the crazy ideas we used to have, and the things that we are trying to stay focused on now. One of the things we talked about is something that has always been a struggle of mine. Basically it revolves around what we are "supposed" to do. What I mean by that is; go to college, get a good job, get married, have 3.4 children, buy a mini-van, bladdy blah blah. None of those things are bad, in fact, that is what most of us do. So, even though I didn't start out wanting to do all of that, I worked really hard at talking myself into it, because, for some lame reason, I just thought I had to.
The problem is, all of our lives don't end up looking the same. We don't all accomplish the same things. I have been obsessed with this idea of accomplishment, as if I have to have that diploma or whatever, to show that I have made something with my life.
So Renee and I just chatted about that. About where we are now and where we think we might be going. It made me think about some things...

The problem with going on a little trip like this is that it stirs up all these things in me that I had thought were dead. It always happens. I always end up questioning myself, and I don't mean in a bad way. It just makes me think...reevaluate.
So I started doing that and it was kind of nice (in a weird sort of way). I had a great drive home during which I felt inspired and recharged.
Unfortunately, I was home for about five minutes before the veil dropped again. Why is that? It's so weird.
Anyway, I am scheming about possible future endeavors. Muhahahaha!!!!
I have some new and crazy ideas up my sleeve for what I might do to make everyone think I will never ever settle down. =) Nice.