I think we all have those times in life that stress piles up and becomes unbearable. Something drastic needs to be done to find a release from the anxiety. For me, I have to get a change of scenery to clear my head and my spirit. Memorial Day weekend was the ‘you have to do something drastic, you are having an anxiety attack’ moment. Between deciding I needed to escape Dallas, and making the drive to a dear friend’s place in Austin, it had been all of 5 hours. I love and hate that some of my best friends have moved to Austin, because it means they don’t live close anymore, but I always have at least three options of places to stay in ATX with a moments notice.
So off I went down the highway to Austin on Sunday afternoon. Good music, large empty fields, and zero skyscrapers. Once I arrived in Austin my friends offered me a beer (I am a craft beer girl all the way) and picked life up as if we had never been apart. I love that I know enough people in Austin that it never feels like I am with strangers in a town I don’t know that well. Later that evening we ended up at a house party where we sang, played music, grilled tasty food, made s’mores, laughed, and had a wonderfully relaxing evening – exactly what I needed.
That night I slept so hard that I forgot I wasn’t in Dallas. Such a good way to wake up, even better when you wake up in a house full of some of your favorite people. The friend I usually stay with has a new flat mate, and we have become fast friends. We ended up talking for hours Monday morning about life, work, stress, how to not be stressed, meditation, guys, relationships, and a ton of other things….. Do you ever, on a rare occasion, meet someone that you immediately feel a soul connection to? That is Mirka. We get each other. When you find someone like that, and then you get to hash out life with them when you are in crisis mode it can change your entire outlook and mood almost immediately, which is exactly what happened. Mirka is full of life, her energy is vibrant, and she has so much love for the world and the people in it. This girl shines, and I am so blessed to know her. If the only reason I drove to Austin Sunday afternoon was to talk to Mirka on Monday morning, then that was enough. I haven’t forgotten about the crystals, Mirka. 🙂
After reluctantly packing up my things to go back to Dallas, I stopped to have coffee with another dear friend that moved to ATX about 8 months ago. Miss this girl fiercely. We, as any good friends, sat down with our coffee and pretended like there wasn’t 200 miles between us. Obvs. After another refreshing conversation, I was prepared to hit the road.
Picked out my jams for the road, and headed down the highway. Not long in to my drive I realized that duh, there is massive construction going back North currently, and duh, it’s the end of Memorial Day weekend. On any other day, this would have totally bothered me. I have no road patience, none. But due to the fact that I didn’t want my trip to be over, the two hours extra that it took to get home were no problem. During this delay, I saw an exit for an ambiguous “Main Street”. I decided to see what a Main Street in the middle of nowhere looked like. I drove for about a quarter of a mile when I stumbled upon a quaint and enchanted little town. I felt like I had literally driven into the town of Southport, North Carolina where Safe Haven was filmed. I didn’t want to leave. Being a lover of photography, I stopped several times to walk around and take pictures. Eventually I knew I needed to get back on the road if I was going to return to reality and take care of the mound of clothing that needed to be washed, feed my kitty, and get sleep for the week to come.
My heart was full. My soul was refreshed. I will be reminiscing back on that trip for a long time as the trip that got me through the Spring and in to the Summer of 2014. Peace and love to all of my friends that walked with me that weekend through the pent up anxiety and stress and brought me to the other side. I love you.