The Driveway

This is a photo of the driveway of Squaw Valley Ranch. The ranch buildings are behind me, and this gravel road goes 2 miles out to another, public gravel road; which continues on for about 50 more miles before it hits the pavement.

In the last six months I have spent many, many hours on this driveway. I have my own private "mile markers" that tell me when I've gone 1/2 mile, 1 mile, 1 1/2 miles, etc. I know how long it takes me to walk to the end and back, to jog it, to run interval sprints on it, to ride my bike on it, and to stroll along it.

I have travelled this driveway with headphones on, listening to the odd mix of music that fills our ipod: Weezer, Allison Kraus, Third Day, Norah Jones, Keith Urban, Beastie Boys, Willie Nelson, Bob Marley, Mary Barett, Jack Johnson.....the list goes on. I have also travelled the driveway in silence; praying, planning, debating decisions in my head, unraveling seemingly complicated human interactions, trying to understand why I, or someone else, did what they did, or said what they said.

I'd like to think I've bonded with this driveway-that when I go home next week, it will miss me as much as I will miss it. I will miss being able to step out the front door with both dogs, never giving a thought to a leash, or a baggie for picking up there messes. I will miss walking in the sun, enjoying the tan I'm getting while getting some exercise. I will miss walking early in the morning, meeting some of the cowboys as they drive up the driveway from other homes on the ranch, heading to the early morning start of their day. I will miss walking in the evening, processing my thoughts as the four mile round trip slides under my feet.

I think most of all, I will miss the "zone" that I get in when I walk this driveway; that place in my head with few distractions, full of honesty, reflection, and clarity. For my own sanity, I'll have to reconnect with a few places in Springfield where I can keep finding that zone everyday.