Five Dollar Pizza From Heaven

Every now and again the universe sends you exactly what you need in the seconds before you think all is lost. In my case it was a piping hot $5.00 pizza from Price Chopper. Now you are most likely thinking to yourself right about now that I need to step up my expectations in life if this is my version of Heaven. Just read.

Won’t bore you with the minutia of my endless Friday but here’s the condensed overview: Awake at 5:00am after a couple of hours of sleep, get kids up, ready, out, work, errands, run Girl Scout meeting, pick up rest of the pack from babysitter, home, more errands, and then St. Patrick’s day grocery shopping. That brings us to the moments before my manna from Heaven (if manna comes with tomato sauce and a heavy handed layer of mozzarella).

Picture three tired children along with their cranky mom (insert my face) on their way to the second grocery store because first one did not have all of the necessary Irish accoutrements for our upcoming celebrations. It’s after 8pm; no one has eaten, and trust me when I say that doesn’t make anyone in this family any nicer. The wall of glass slides open and in we walk to be greeted by a woman in a flowing robe and a halo. Okay – the children are saying that she was in a Price Chopper polo shirt and the light over her head was the glare off the donut case but hey, we all see what we want, right?

Anyway…..in we walk to find this angel (a.k.a. underpaid Price Chopper employee) approaching us with a box held regally before her. Angels sang as she asked us, “Would you like a fresh, hot, five dollar pizza tonight?”

And there it was – the one thing I didn’t have to think about taking care of on our never-ending Friday. Dinner. Gifted to us from a woman who had to be Heaven sent. Wasn’t the best pizza we’ve ever had, nor was it the worst, but last night it was the most appreciated pizza I’ve ever eaten.

Off Road Life

I should state up front that I am not a quad fanatic, dirtbiker, or Dacar Rally participant(although that last one may have to be added to the bucket list because it is VERY cool).  I am however a big fan of the “road less traveled” lifestyle.  The kind of life lived wherein friends and family simultaneously find themselves both shuddering in horror and desiring to try on some of your choices.

To date I have lived in 24 homes, 2 countries, and 7 states.  My choices are not for the faint of heart – in fact some days I am not even sure if they are for me – but life is short and the world is big.    To many friends and family we are the wild things. The take chances and hopefully land on our feet people. To others we are just plain crazy (not entirely sure they are wrong in that assessment). To myself I think, “Wow – only 2 countries?  When did I get so boring?”

But what about those who have forsaken the path altogether?  They are not on the well-worn nor the less travelled.  Instead they are bushwhacking their way into adventures that even those of us who walk on the wild side are shy to go.

There is a whole other subculture that I envy and whom I want to emulate when I one day pluck some vestige of courage out of the mountain air.  It’s a lifestyle that requires throwing off every expectation of what is “normal” and forging ahead with a boldness that is often mistaken for irresponsibility (okay, that can really be a fine line to walk).

These are the off-road, beating new paths, wild folk who can live in real freedom and toss what the world thinks out the window as they head into the next adventure.   Ahhh..sweet freedom.  Which path do you follow?  Are you a straight and narrow kind of traveler or, to quote some beloved pop culture sci-fi AKA Star Trek, do you yearn “to explore strange new worlds; To seek out new life and new civilizations; To boldly go where no man has gone before” ?

“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to
decide.”  ~Napoeon Bonaparte

Where will your next adventure take you?