"I want you to promise me that despite the disparity between childhood and adulthood, you are going to make time for at least one memorable adventure in the coming months! You need it to shake off that miserable feeling of struggle and survival that has haunted you all winter. You must cross your heart and hope to die that you will, but you don't have to stick a needle in your eye. I always found that part totally unnecessary."
That's from a letter from one of my oldest friends sent me in May. I'd just reluctantly taken my summer job, was on the midst of a shitstorm of musical and school district drama, and desperately needed to feel like I wasn't getting old without ever having been young. My friend's words were just what I needed to hear then, although I'd forgotten them until I reread her letter today.
My immediate reaction to rereading them was that I'd failed to live up to that promise. However, upon further reflection, I did okay this summer. Not necessarily the adventures I originally hoped for but adventures nonetheless.
I took my family to NYC in June to see my favorite ballerina retire. We stayed up all night in the city, saw the sunrise on the Brooklyn Bridge, and I met a tumblr friend in real life. If that isn't adventure I don't know what is.
I also have been tiny everyday adventures, like working on an internship that means seeing my ex everyday, driving across three states to do hipster outdoor yoga with my best friend, taking a two year old to a park in a strapless dress, reading everything I can get my hands on, making freelance plans, doing cartwheels in the road in the rain, and meeting my amazing CP Alex.
Maybe those don't sound like adventures to you, but they're what sustained me this summer. These things are what kept me sane, kept me pushing forward instead of looking back (most of the time).
What have been your adventures (big or small) this summer?
xoxox
L.S. Mooney
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