I am a planner and a wanderer at one and the same time. I have always adhered to a strict schedule and a To Do list that plots out every single hour of every day. Nonetheless I always include time for serendipitous adventures. There is nothing that I enjoy more than suddenly leaving the pathway that I have outlined for myself. I love order and structure but I soon grow anxious if I am unable to follow a whim, an itch that comes over me without warning. Because I am so focused on my responsibilities I always have enough time built into my schedule to throw all caution and routine to the wind.
One of my all time favorite movies is “Chocolat” which is the story of a gypsy like woman who comes to a small town to create a shop filled with sweet delicacies. She is a child of nature who both charms and frightens her neighbors with her seeming lack of regard for a conventional life. I found myself admiring her character and identifying with her need to seek new adventures.
Most people would view me as being ever reliable and unlikely to set out on a wing and a prayer but I have in fact done so on many occasions. I am attracted to people who share my quirk for wanderlust. I suppose I get it from my mother who was a steadying force for me and my brothers who also had an impish streak that always led us to fun. So it was with my dear friend, Pat.
Pat often called me and commanded me to put on my shoes and comb my hair and be ready for fun when she arrived at my home. I always knew that whatever she had in mind would be gloriously memorable. She had a way of enchanting me to follow her as though she was Peter Pan teaching me to fly and taking me away to Adventureland. So too was my mother who notoriously drove into my driveway honking her horn as though it was a command for me to get outside and go with her wherever she had decided to go.
I loved the excitement that both of these women brought into my life. I suppose that I would have mostly kept my nose to the grindstone had it not been for them. I never knew if I was going shopping, heading for a movie or traveling a wee bit out of town. I’ll learned so much about the world around me from both women who took me to exotic places close to home that I did not know existed.
Pat was like the big sister that I had always dreamed of having. She tutored me on the interesting aspects of the world and widened my knowledge in remarkable ways. I remember one time when we planned to go camping about three hours away from home. We packed up all the gear and I instructed her in the morays of sleeping under the stars, something she had never before done. The tables were turned and I was going to teach her. Sadly it did not come to be because I realized that I had left the poles that held up the tent back home in my garage.
Not to be set back by an inconvenience Pat quickly found us a couple of tiny cabins for rent and the adventure carried on with a roof over our heads. We still cooked outside and used my lanterns for lighting but those solid walls shielded us from the heavy rain that came unexpectedly. We laughed about that for years afterward.
I tend to be very careful with spending and Pat was not profligate either but she knew when it was time to splurge. She was often the one who told me not to walk away from a wonderful find just because I felt a bit reticent about the cost. I never once regretted the advice that she gave me. Somehow she was always right about when to be a bit frivolous.
She was the only friend I have ever had whose home I could invade without invitation. In fact she tutored me in being flexible and open to guests at any time. She used to boast that all one needs to do is keep a clean bathroom and a spotless kitchen countertop just in case someone comes to the door unexpectedly. She noted that nobody cares if there is a bit of dust or some object out of place as long as the atmosphere is inviting. She insisted that I should always have some ice cream and a roll of cookie dough on hand to provide a small repast for guests who came to my door. Then she would sit me down at her kitchen table and ask me what I needed from her which was usually her sage advice.
I suppose that we would all do well to have a balanced life in which we meet our daily expectations but also learn how to be spontaneous when the moment for doing so arises. I learned from my Mama and Pat how to do so with finesse and never miss out on an opportunity for excitement. A little imbalance now and again has proven to be a very good thing.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 