It all had to fit…3/4 of my life into the back of Gus, my little hatchback 2003 VW GTI.
A “reign of terror” befell my room…
I bottled my nostalgia, locked it away, and lined up each item (whether clothes, shoes, or books) to face trial.
Each item came face-to-face with the stiff jury:
Keep? Pitch?
Emotions ran high: tears ran, blood was shed, graves were dug and 4 rounds later, my room was light and half empty, and I couldn’t even remember the items I had just purged my life of.
I packed, stuffed, squeezed and somehow it all fit, EVERYTHING:
My gray felt hat sitting on the dashboard, 15 (give or take) pairs of shoes sticking out of cracks and crevices wherever I could stuff them, 2 bins of clothes, 1 bin of art supplies, 3 crates holding my pantry of flour, oats, yeast, sugar, etc. I managed to pile my 40 liter Osprey on the very top of my bedding. Even I could fit AND see out of all my mirrors!
We were ready.
With a full tank of gas, Gus and I hopped on the highway and headed west.
“Don’t worry, Laura,” Eve had said. “The mountains are coming.”
She had read my mind. After driving, for what seemed like days through the forever plains of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wyoming, the lack of mountains slightly worried me. However, Eve reassured my that they were just around the corner…
Here I was again–Gus and me–exactly 2 years after Eve brought me to Wyoming…
Dozens of goodbyes were still floating about in my mind. Sadness for what I was leaving and anticipation for what was coming made me anxious. Then I heard Eve’s reassuring voice in my head ” Don’t worry, Laura, the mountains are just around the corner.”
And they were.
Gus and I topped a hill, turned a corner, and suddenly I couldn’t breath…there they were, the Bighorn Mountains capped in snow and surrounded by looming clouds of storm and wonder. My senses numbed by their magnificence.
My anxiety flew out the window and was laid to rest in the great plains as Gus began the ascent.
So here we are once again: Gus, me, and 3/4 of my worldly possessions ready for the summer of 2017 in Paradise.
Laura Ellen 