Was there ever a time in your childhood that you felt like running away from home?  That seems so silly looking back, because as Dorothy Gale said, “There’s no place like home.”

Even as adults, we sometimes want to run away from home. Take my husband and I a few weeks ago: We’re in a place in our lives where are kids our grown, gone and married. We’re empty-nesters, enjoying the quiet that comes before the arrival of grandchildren. (And no, there are no grandchildren on the way…that we know about!).

But on this particular Saturday, we woke up restless. The weather was cold and cloudy… and we just needed to get out of town!  September had been very hectic and there hadn’t been a lot of down time.

Normally, when you say “let’s get up and go somewhere,” you rarely do it. And on this day, I thought that would be the case for us.  My husband had some minor repairs to do on his truck and I said to myself that was it. He’d get stuck in the garage, buried in his car repairs and we wouldn’t go anywhere. Maybe we’d have time to see a movie or something later.

He headed for the garage and I thought I’d dig out a craft project to work on. Well, he made his repairs, and came back in the house and announced that he needed to road test the truck.

“Pack an overnight bag, just in case,” he told me. 

Really?  I couldn’t believe it.  I leapt up and packed quickly.  My mood lifted and I kept smiling as I threw things into a bag.

Even if we didn’t spend the night anywhere, just to take a drive was a marvelous idea. Instead of just talking about it, we were actually going!  On a whim, with no thought, no reservations, no real destination (though we had an idea).

We drove about three hours, and stayed near a state park at a hotel on a lake. It was wonderful!  We spent the night and returned home the next day. It was a fast trip, but it felt so good just to get away, to walk along the lake right before a thunderstorm rolled in. Watching the deer the surrounded the lake property… just being together, anywhere except at home.

I think the best part was that we did it so spontaneously.  At our age, (not that I claim we’re old!) it seemed like our spontaneous days were behind us  — that was something for the young.

But for one weekend, we felt young, and carefree.  What a great feeling.

So maybe the next time we’re restless, we won’t even hesitate. We’ll throw some things in a bag and get in the car and go!

What about you?  What’s the last spontaneous thing you did?  Have you ever gone out of town on a whim?

I’d love to hear your stories.  And when appropriate, I hope you find your moment to run away from home!