Last night Oaks and I needed to run an errand that took us through a neighboring town. Just as we crossed the bridge over the lake, we noticed an enticing tree-lined street called “Oak Drive” off to the right. It appeared to quietly tuck away down the shoreline of the lake. We decided that on our way home, we would turn down that road, just to see where it led. (Of course, we did.)
Wandering is in my blood.
I don’t know if it’s the way my mom’s “car” had a mind of its own and would randomly turn off the road to take us to garage sales growing up. It could be from my Dad’s playful sense of adventure. Or maybe it’s due to exploring every culvert and stream in our neighborhood with my sister Kim when I was growing up. Maybe it’s just in my blood. I don’t know exactly where it comes from, but there’s no denying it’s there. Just like Moana was pulled to the sea, I’m drawn to the back roads and intriguing turn-offs.
I’m prone to wander.
But it’s really more like being prone to “wonder”. It’s not a pointless wandering as much as it’s a “wondering” about all that might lie “out there”. Let’s be clear though. I’m not exactly one who likes to travel the world to see all the sights. I’d rather take the untraveled road, explore just beyond the beaten path. All I know is that there’s this sense deep inside of me that there’s so much life beyond the road everyone else is traveling.
I see it in my boy too.
It’s no coincidence that just as we were pulling out of the neighborhood to run our errand, we were talking about real estate numbers. He whipped up a giant number for me, and as I listened to his rationale, I could barely even follow along, but the answer he computed was exactly right. I said, “Wow. That’s impressive. Do you realize that your brain works so uniquely? Never in a million years would I have come up with the answer that way!” He said, “It makes my teacher so frustrated that I don’t do it her way.” I smiled and said,
“That’s because it’s your teacher’s job to teach you how to do it her way. It’s not because it’s the only way. “
On our way back, we ended up turning a little too soon before we got to Oak Drive. But the street we took led us to explore one of the most interesting neighborhoods I’ve seen. We spotted an abandoned castle-looking house on a hill. Of course, we took the driveway down and around to the back where you could see cracks in the walls that looked like it could fall in on us at any minute.
We laughed about what horrible “luck” it would be if that was the exact moment it finally fell.
We eventually made our way back to Oak Drive, which turned out to be a very short street, leading to a tiny culdesac, with a pond on one side and a giant ravine on the other. It appeared that the poorly paved, partially buckling road was the only thing holding the water back, and to be honest, it was a little unsettling. He didn’t say it, but I could sense his uncertainty. So we talked about what it’s like to travel an unknown road, just to see where it leads. Always believing that there’s something really good, just beyond the treeline. If I don’t leave him much else in this world, I hope that the blood that runs through his veins is unapologetically full of faith and wonder.
I hope I leave a little bit of that with you too.
I hope I leave you with a little more courage to dance with the unknown. I hope I inspire you to walk on the edge of what is known. I hope you embrace the uncertainty and the struggle of taking the untraveled road sometimes, instead of opting for the safety of the path well traveled.
Sure, it will be a little more dangerous, and sometimes scary.
But the familiar is never as safe as it seems anyway.
And it’s certainly not the only way.
to more love,
Crystal
p.s. Taking the untraveled road is what the party is all about in 2 weeks! We’re celebrating 3 years of women trying something new, together. Gather your girlfriends and join us for a fun and easy night out, away from it all at True Colors Birthday Bingo Bash GNO!
