Now, I’m not saying someone did something wrong, or anything, but they sure made it confusing for us young readers.
Driveways, Parkways, Freeways, Doorways, and such, all share the Way part… but that’s where any normalcy ends. I get the meaning of way, because it’s describing the meaning of passing through, or
1. a method, style, or manner of doing something.”there are two ways of approaching this problem” h Similar:methodcourse of actionprocessproceduretechniquesystemplanstrategyschememeansmechanismroutinemannerapproachrouteroadmodus operandi
There was more detail in the definition, but I’m only interested in the first part, which is simple enough to understand.
I understand the definition of Way… but that’s the only part that makes sense. It’s the other half of the word never makes much sense…
Why do they say Driveway, when we park there, but call it a Parkway if we drive on it? Have you ever been given gifts or complimentary packages while driving on a Freeway? Doorway makes sense, because it’s a door that you pass through, right? I don’t want to guess what a Highway is supposed to offer, verses the rest of the Ways… sheesh!
I think grown-ups make these word things a lot harder than they should be, if I’m being fully honest. In truth, I’m fairly certain that we all do this at times. I think it’s in our nature, or something like that…
It took nearly three days of paddling… upstream, I might add! But, now we’ve a bit of a walk, as the river could only carry us so far. It’s sort of funny how the brain works, at times. When we were only looking at the navigational charts, I couldn’t make heads or tails of which way to go, and nothing looked familiar, at all!
But, now that we’re actually standing on the path leading toward my grandson’s old house, I recognize everything about this place. Memories, like morning dew, began settling upon my skin like a warm, familiar blanket.
Though it’s been nearly three years since they’ve moved, I can still remember the path to their old house. I remember as if I’d been there only yesterday, or the day before. I have the utmost confidence in those memories bringing us straight to our destination… Peanut!
If we’re to get there, we best get going, right? Eustace insisted on carrying all the gear needed for the camping and cooking bit. While I know where to go, it’ll still take a day of travel just to get there… which means camping gear.
No worries! A little camping never hurt anyone, at least, not our crew! If you were surrounded by a passel of wild babies, with sticky fingers and far too much energy to be good for them… would you rather do it in a tiny boat, or the open woodland, where they can run squealing til they pass out from exhaustion!?
I’m not saying that I’m hoping for a reprieve while they disappear into the woods… I’m just asking for a friend.
If we want to get to Peanut before nightfall, it’s time we get moving down the trail. I won’t be able to send you any messages til we get back here to the boat, so keep an eye on things for us while we’re gone, if you would. I’d be ever so grateful!
And, there’s cookies in it for whomever takes on such a special task…
I don’t fancy having to walk all the way back the sea!
56 years of being the last one on the list, the one at the end of the line, or the stand-by friend has done it’s damage. You know what they say about the truth of things… If everyone else in the room disagrees with you, then it must be you that’s wrong. Personally, I think that adage stinks like a bag of rotten eggs!
I’ve simply decided that I want to go home, I don’t really like it here anymore. I’m on an adventure of faith… the faith that my heavenly home is being prepared for me, as I speak! There shall be NO security upon this broken and fallen world… not for me! I’m going home! This world is just a process I have to get through to reach my destiny… Home!
I am a woman of God, a child of the Creator of the universe, and right now, I’m struggling with each and every passage in scripture… but I’m reading it anyway! Why? Because it’s not always about doing things only when you feel like it, that’s why.
The bible tells us that we will have troubles in this world because of Him, but we should still be encouraged because He did all the heavy lifting, long ago. He has made a way home for us, but we need to follow that path if we really wish to get there.
In my mind, that’s a fairly big adventure! I’m on my way home one day at a time, for only God knows my arrival time. I get to choose how I get there, though. I suppose that I could just give up and wait for my own departure, like a petulant little girl. Or, I can do it with grace, keeping a smile on my face, praise on my lips, and hope in my heart.
I’m going with the hope of heaven, rather than the cry baby part. I really do get sick of hearing myself complain, so instead, I write strange and wonderful adventurous stories of myself and my imaginary friends. We fill our days with adventures that I shall never do, travel to exotic lands that I’ll never visit, and be the hero that I’ll never really be. These are my adventure in search of security! Anyone is welcome aboard this vessel, if you so choose to join us. Adventures are always more fun with friends, wouldn’t you agree?
We have a cabin filled with maps, navigational charts, and all manner of nautical doohickeys… and we still managed to get ourselves lost! One would think that having a dragon about would count for something. Not when he can’t fly out and search for our landmarks.
Currently, the dragon is grounded to my cabin… well, not really grounded. It’s more like seclusion for his own safety. After the incident we had the other day, it’s best for everyone involved that the dragon not be out and about, right now. Maybe I should back up a bit…
It all started with a storm, and a mighty one it was…
This old ship groaned, creaked, and sprang leaks from stem to stern, but she held! Thank goodness for the workmanship of those old time craftsmen. Truly, this ship was built to withstand the seas cruelest of winds, and most powerful waves. The problem, however, wasn’t the wind nor the waves. It was the rocks…
It was good that the ship could hold out the water, but I was more worried about the wind and where it was carrying us. We were utterly helpless and at the mercy of the fierce winds for hours, while they ruthlessly pushed us toward destruction…
We never had a chance to safely stow our sails before the storm hit, leaving useless and in tatters. When I didn’t things could get any worse… they did! We found ourselves under attack from pirates…
Our attackers used large grappling hooks to tear into our ship’s timbers, locking onto her sides like hungry eels. Just as they began to board us Brutus came roaring out of the galley with mouth open and teeth bared. The dragon’s sudden intake of breath sent the pirates scrambling back over the edges of the ship in fear for their lives…
I’ve told you that Brutus is a big boy… well, maybe that wasn’t the truest description…
When the dragon is at his full size, he towers over our very ship like it were a mere plaything. That’s the reason for his usual doglike size. Otherwise, the ship would simply sink under the weight of a mighty dragon.
Anyways, back to our pirate predicament…
Depending on who you ask, Brutus may or may not have, kind of sort of, lit a good number of pirate ships on fire… well, it all happened so fast that I can honestly say that I didn’t actually see anything happen… honest! I was so busy collecting crew that were scattered about the ship, I didn’t know the ships were on fire until I smelled the smoke in the air.
At first, I thought it was our vessel burning, and nearly dropped Bailey over the side of the ship when our sails miraculously caught a gust of wind, propelling our ship away from the flames as if we’d been shot out of a cannon!
With ships burning in the distance that grew between us, I looked to see that our sails were being filled by the breath of a familiar dragon. Brutus was using his mighty lungs and wings to push us to safety!
Somehow, the dragon managed to direct our ship toward a gap in those islands we’d been crashing towards, just before the pirates attacked. There, we made anchor in the dark, to simply wait out the storm and pray for dawn.
Dawn’s first light saw us making a hasty retreat into deeper waters, hoping to put as much distance from our adversaries as possible, though we saw no trace of our pursuers, nor any evidence of the battle that had taken place, only the night before.
The waters didn’t say empty for long, however, as I’m certain that there were survivors… and I’m sure they told tales of a mighty dragon. By the next day, there were numerous ships of varying allegiances. I could only presume that they were searching for this so called dragon…
My only option was to flee into uncharted waters, seeking to lose ourselves within the sea, itself…
Sometimes, getting lost is actually the best way to get where your going… at least that’s what I’m learning.
So, now you know why Brutus is sticking below decks for the time being. Now is not the time for having a massive dragon flying around your ship, you know? We’d stick out like a sore thumb, if you know what I mean.
For now, if you wouldn’t mind, I’m going to stay lost, I think…
Do you know how hard it is to work on my computer while at sea? I’m reliant on multiple back up batteries for power. Add to that, our internet connection is spotty at best when the weather is disagreeable. But, regardless of what the clouds are doing, I’m not one to give up on a task that I think should be done… like my tinkering.
Bailey suggested that we get high speed internet that’s wireless, so we only need be near land for our connection. We won’t even have to get off the ship! I knew she was a very smart puppy, but didn’t expect that the dog would think of a solution before I did. Don’t I feel silly.
Now that we’ve ironed out all the kinks, as they say, let’s get to work!
I thought it might be a good idea to design some better pictures of our ship, so as to reveal what a wonderful vessel we sail upon! I wouldn’t want you thinking that we were gallivanting across the sea in a cardboard raft, or something of that nature.
Obviously, she’s quite a big girl!
She would have to be enormous… that is, if she’s to carry all the babes, myself, and Brutus. I realize that the dragon can take any form or size that he wishes, but sometimes he just likes to relax in his natural state… like us wearing pajamas and slippers on a Saturday morning.
Speaking of enormous, the amount of food we go through on this boat is staggering. Due to the sheer number of mouths onboard, I made sure that our galley came fully stocked with all the sundries required for this journey…
Food isn’t the only thing truly necessary for a comfortable trip across the waters, no no! If you’ve ever had to deal with a little one that’s running on little or no sleep, which then means that you’re also running on no sleep… well, you can understand why I took such great efforts to ensure these babes get plenty of rest…
Before you start thinking that I stuffed all the babes in the same cabin, I want to assure you that I am most certainly not that silly! This is just Lilly’s room. As you can see, all the girls like to have slumber parties, tea parties, or just parties for the sake of having a party.
This is Dinky and Boomer’s cabin…
Tilly shares a cabin with mini me, along with both Bailey and Auzzie, as those two need constant supervision…
There’s a another cabin that was meant for the rest of the boys, but their never in it!
Eustace actually prefers to sleep on a pillow in the Captains Quarters for some strange reason, and Squagon has taken to sleeping in the crows nest full time. He says it’s to be on the lookout for any danger, but I think it has more to do with wanting to sleep in a tree. He is a squirrel, you know.
I didn’t make a cabin for Brutus because he generally sleeps wherever suits him at the time. Sometimes the dragon sleeps on deck, fully stretched out to his full size. On the more stormy nights he likes to sleep down below, to comfort the little ones.
Myself, well, it was important that it be comfortable an spacious…
You can’t imagine how often my bed is filled with sleepers from down the hall. Oh, and did you notice the nightstand there, next to my bed? That’s for Nugget!
Anyway, my battery is dying on this ole laptop, so I’ll wrap this up. I just thought you’d want to see what our ship looks like. Before I end this message, there’s one last thing that must be settled… our vessel has no name yet!
If you would do me this small favor, would you please offer up some possible names fitting of such a fine ship? It seems fitting that you be a part of the naming, since you’re the ones who give wind to her sails. Besides, if it’s left to everyone aboard the ship there’s no telling what name might be agreed upon.
I shall wait for your suggestions, but not for too long. We’re already far out to sea and I’ve heard that it’s quite dangerous to sail an unnamed vessel. I apologize for rushing things, but you understand the urgency, right?
I had to laugh when I saw this prompt, as it brought up a memory that had been lost to me… so thank you, WordPress!
I swear that I might have been born in the wild, because my earliest memories include riding bareback while still in diapers… ya, I have a mind like a steel trap!
Anyways, camping is something that came naturally to this girl, and so, I passed it on to my children. My daughters have been camping since before they were born, as I freely went camping during my pregnancies. When my girls began to grow, we began traveling with a group of about 4 or 5 other families during the summer months, camping and fishing throughout the great Northwest. From southern Oregon, across Idaho and into Montana, and even into British Columbia.
Needless to say, my family are avid campers, fishers, hikers and hunters! They weren’t always so experienced at this stuff, and it took a great deal of training and practice, especially in the bathroom department, if you know what I mean? I had three girls!
How does one raise a little girl to be a tough camper, and yet still be a little lady? Like I said, we traveled with a huge group of camping families, which meant cooking together, bathing in close proximity to others, and yes, using the restroom in groups, for security! With little ones running around, we grown ups thought it was easiest to make an appropriate code word, to signal our restroom intentions. If one needed to use the restroom, we simply said, “I have to go camping”, and anyone who needed to go, simply agreed to come along.
Now, this went on for nearly an entire summer before one of my girls finally asked, “Mamma, how come the grown-ups keep saying they’re camping and then disappear into the woods?” I explained that it was a polite way of saying that we needed to use the restroom, without saying it in front of others. She didn’t question me further, and seemed not to even understand what I’d said. About a week later, all the families gathered at our home to plan the next upcoming adventure.
There we all were, standing around my kitchen talking, when my daughter marches into the midst of the group and boldly announced, “Everyone, I need to go camping… that means I have to go poop!”
I nearly dropped the plate in my hands! The entire room went silent for a moment, and then erupted into laughter! All of the adults in the room knowing laughed themselves silly, while my daughter marched off to the bathroom. The rest of the day was filled with children running around the house, loudly claiming they needed to camp and then laughing about it!
Journey With Me! 