Going Lulu

It's been a long year since last August.  New school, new job for me, new changes in family dynamics.  I really want to get away.  We haven't been away as a family to really unwind together for over a year. To me, that's a long time. Sure, we've been out of state for a wedding and a family visit, but that's not the same. I want to get in the car or --better yet--on an airplane and go a new place with new scenery and a boat. Lord knows I really want to go on a boat.  Not a big boat, not a cruise liner, but on a pontoon where I can troll around, do some fishing, and just lollygag. With a friend who will talk to me. My husband is not a talker and would find three hours on a boat with me quite tiring, I believe. Just sayin.'  I would find three hours of silence lonesome.

I would love to find a friend who would like a good mix of talking, being quiet, and would hook the worms for me. I hate worms and have no desire to actually keep a  stinky, scaly fish to eat. I just love the joy of casting a line, waiting for a bite, and then reeling one in. That's all. Catch and release. I'm remembering Lake Wilson. My friend Barb and I went there a couple years ago and just enjoyed being together, pretty much the only ones there. I sat on the picnic bench and journaled as I admired the cool blue-green water that I could see through near the sand.  It was like rippling topaz.  She stretched out on a beach blanket and read a mystery book.  We both wanted to stay longer, but decided to go to a little 'folk art museum"  out in the boonies, a place recommended to us by the proprietor of the B&B where we stayed. What  a gigantic letdown. Ever wish you had just followed your heart? The "art museum" was basically a collection of people's junk put together to make kooky looking dolls, not-so-funny toilet trinkets, and imaginative but ugly jewelry. And that was just the
foyer area. For a tour, we would have had to shell out six bucks each. Really?  What a rip-off. The "curator" went on and on about these were "local craftsmen and women with real talent and an eye for whimsy."   Whimsy. Is that a synonym for junk?

Anyway, we cut our losses and had a better time at the 50's type "diner" next door, enjoying the classic American burger, fries, and a Coke. 

So maybe I'm just feeling cheated a little. A lot. Trying not to be jealous of friends who have been to
the beach, the lake, distant shores, or SOMEWHERE fun and/or peaceful.  Even my own kids have been "off and doing" with their friends this summer.  The older ones, that is. The disjointedness of having an almost-empty nest is actually more challenging than taking a bunch of kids on vacation. They have their own schedules, their own money and transportation, their own idea of what constitutes fun, and at this stage, parents are not part of the equation.

If I don't get away, it will seem like one school year just blended in with the next without refreshment. I need to be refreshed and recharged. I do that best on the water, away from home, and with a friend.