Get Lost!

When I was growing up "Get lost!" had only one meaning, mostly used by the mean kids. 

Now that I am twenty-nine and seven months away from turning thirty; I have discovered another meaning for those two words that once would have had me in tears. 

I often write about my mini-hikes around the rain-forest near my home and my love for roaming the less trodden paths. 

Today I gave into a yen to get lost in a prosperous neighbourhood a ten minute walk from my home - I gawked shamelessly at marble foot-paths leading to stately colonial and tudor mansions with chandeliers twinkling prettily in big front windows, art deco tree-houses that you can bet have feng shui interior, black and gold gilded lanterns atop brick fences with black lattice-work gates guarding whatever treasures lie within. House after house boasts manicured gardens and three of them have tennis courts. 

I wonder if there is a friendly contest during Christmas time to see who has the best Christmas lights? I make a mental note to come back to this area and find out. 

(About the Christmas lights...not the contest!) 😉 

I like going to new places and enjoying the scenery - and this neighbourhood has plenty of it. 

As a writer I am on a constant quest for inspiration to throw into my books.

 In my head I play a game where I make up wild, interesting stories about how the affluent owners of the houses earn their living. 

I know that kind of life isn't for me and Alan - I prefer cosy weatherboard cottages with quaint charm and Alan likes urban high-rises with silver gadgets.

 There is a house in my old neighbourhood that was painted sky blue with white awnings and a deck where the owners would sit together and enjoy a glass of wine. 

Seeing that little blue cottage with its fairy lights always bolstered my spirits if I was having a bad day and now it is inspiration for our future home that I will decorate in happy, vibrant colours and textures. 

So you see, dear reader. When somebody tells you to get lost, that is one of the best pieces of advice people can give you. Get lost somewhere that calls you to it, a place that inspires you to dream about what the future holds when the present is uncertain. 

Take it from someone who has learnt that you can get lost and find yourself again. 

- Sarah x