Autumn is a famously beautiful time of year in Maine. One fall Saturday when I was still in high school my best friend and I raked leaves from the early morning till late into the evening as a way to earn money to go on a "mission" trip. During those long hours as our hands blistered from holding the rakes we mapped out the plan for our lives. What were going to do?
We were going to finish high school. I was going to fulfill my highly ambitious dream of owning an old VW van and we were going to drive cross country. For some reason we determined that we would end up in New Orleans. I don't remember why or how we came to that destination in our imaginary life plan but we did. We were going to be waitresses in a checkered floor cafe, or maybe we would open our own. We would live in a sparsely furnished apartment. We would drink tea all day long. Our uniform? Holey jeans and white tank tops. G was going to pursue art and I was going to pursue writing. Maybe it was the exotic simplicity that attracted us to this hyper-glorified lifestyle. In the back of our minds we both knew we'd go to college but we never talked about that. We always maximized our time together. Even when graduation came (she finished a year before me) we fell into a heavy letter writing relationship that continues to this day. I haven't seen G in nearly 3.5 years but our letters still speak of that day together raking leaves and our plan for our lives. The three times we have seen each other since I finished high school almost six years ago have been filled with creativity. I am convinced we are each other's soul muses if such a thing exists.
Most days I feel as though I have walked far away from the leave raker and dreamer I once was. Occasionally I get glimpses of that girl but it is rare. When it happens I try to harness her and make the moment last as long as I can.
So while I don't think I'll be living out my VW van in New Orleans anytime soon I'll take the spread out bursts of creative word whether written or spoken. In the meantime, I'll continue to reminisce from my run down convent office where I'm wearing dry clean only pants because holey jeans aren't permitted.
We were going to finish high school. I was going to fulfill my highly ambitious dream of owning an old VW van and we were going to drive cross country. For some reason we determined that we would end up in New Orleans. I don't remember why or how we came to that destination in our imaginary life plan but we did. We were going to be waitresses in a checkered floor cafe, or maybe we would open our own. We would live in a sparsely furnished apartment. We would drink tea all day long. Our uniform? Holey jeans and white tank tops. G was going to pursue art and I was going to pursue writing. Maybe it was the exotic simplicity that attracted us to this hyper-glorified lifestyle. In the back of our minds we both knew we'd go to college but we never talked about that. We always maximized our time together. Even when graduation came (she finished a year before me) we fell into a heavy letter writing relationship that continues to this day. I haven't seen G in nearly 3.5 years but our letters still speak of that day together raking leaves and our plan for our lives. The three times we have seen each other since I finished high school almost six years ago have been filled with creativity. I am convinced we are each other's soul muses if such a thing exists.
Most days I feel as though I have walked far away from the leave raker and dreamer I once was. Occasionally I get glimpses of that girl but it is rare. When it happens I try to harness her and make the moment last as long as I can.
So while I don't think I'll be living out my VW van in New Orleans anytime soon I'll take the spread out bursts of creative word whether written or spoken. In the meantime, I'll continue to reminisce from my run down convent office where I'm wearing dry clean only pants because holey jeans aren't permitted.
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