It’s been five days since we came off the trail and I miss it.  I miss even the stupid rocks that were always finding the perfect spot to dig into my back and make everything sore and it hard to sleep.  Twice since I’ve returned I have gone shopping or at least window-shopping so I can start looking at equipment so I can see what I will “need” or at least want to buy.

A pack.  I want a new pack.  Something with lots of pockets that will enable me to carry my water more easily.  Something that will sit comfortably on my back and will hold my world much like a turtle carries its shell.  Today, Pat and I found a pack that I really like.  I have been reading blogs, digital magazines, and different articles to find the right pack for me and, today, I found it.  Only problem is that I just don’t have the money for it.  But I will save and set aside and, possibly, get it in a clearance event.  I have learned that companies will “re-issue” packs much like car companies will upgrade vehicles on a yearly basis.  I just need to be patient.  I will get what I want.  I will get what I want….

Today, I stared at sleeping pads and used my husband’s wallet to simulate a rock.  I found what I wanted, an inflatable pad that helps shield my back from the un-lovely rocks, trees, or peas (I can pretend to be a princess here, can’t I?) so that I might get a decent night’s rest.

And then I stared at sleeping bags, tents, clothing, and a Freshette which is a device that will enable a woman to urinate while standing up.  A bit awkward….

The fact is, the paths are calling my name.  I can hear every nuance of the world beyond my doorstep calling out to me, a siren beckoning me back into a world far beyond the five steps off my front porch.  And I want to go, yearn to walk down those paths once more and feel the separation that distances me from the simple silliness that has been a distraction from my life.

I keep on thinking about different events, different moments of stellar wonderfulness from my five days on the trail.  Whether it was the meteor shower (I saw about five….it wasn’t peak time) or the occasional deer that would dart across the road and leap into the undergrowth, I want to go back.

Teacher workweek is in two weeks.  I will be heading in to school next week to start setting up my classroom.  I am ready to go back there as well.  I am ready for so many things and so completely un-ready for this year.  I haven’t written up all the quizzes I want to give or the paper assignments I plan on assigning.

But I know this year will be an incredible year because, if anything, I have done the emotional and psychological preparation I never knew I was forgetting.  I might not have my website completely built or all the books read that I intended to read.

But I found myself on a path that sings to me.

I’m coming back.

I promise.

Just let me get my hiking boots.