Being Prepared Can Allow for Spontaneity

September w

Last week I headed north to visit my sister Meredith and her boyfriend Mike (a.k.a. M&M) in Portland, Maine. As an

Thursday, no sooner out of the car, Meredith had us taking a walk along the coast, lunch overlooking the harbor, and a tour of downtown. Back home, I took the reigns briefly to reorganize the basement and some closets. Dusk approached and Mike lit the fire pit in the backyard where we sat, wrapped in heavy sweatshirts and ate homemade chili under a beautiful night sky. 

Friday began with a 30-mile bike ride by rolling hills, farms and a country fair complete with a Ferris wheel, plus a stop at an apple orchard for cider donuts. The evening plan was another night by the fire, but on a whim it was back to the fair to catch the traveling rodeo with real cowboys and cowgirls and saddle bronc riding, the sun setting in the distance. Dinner was last minute at Gather, a restaurant located in a former Masonic hall serving locally grown foods. Delicious.

Sunday morning, a long drive ahead, we left early, making time to stop at Walden Pond to visit the spot Henry David Thoreau once called home. Stepping inside the replica of his tiny hut, I thought of my 90 square foot apartment, and understood right away the draw of that sanctuary. Like Thoreau, even when your days are as programmed as his were preparing food, gathering wood, and writing; when you’re living with less stuff, your days can be filled with so much more.