Friday morning my plans for the weekend took a distinct change when my original destination for the weekend ended up not happening and a few texts later I found myself in my car headed out of Upstate New York to points south, namely Maryland. Yes, I picked up on a whim and decided to spend my weekend with none other than Katy McCabe. I had no plan, no real purpose to go to Maryland other than to spend time with a friend as I did not know when the next time I would be able to see her, so I seized the moment, carpe diem and took and step outside of my normal.
 

I like to plan, I plan for work, I plan for life, I plan my training. I am hyperaware of how each move I make will be judged by those around me. I do not normally just pick up and just do. This is one of the reasons I love Katy. She does not plan. She just goes and does, most of the time without questioning. So this weekend I cast aside the hyper planning part of me and just went, just lived. We were joined by Josh to round out our unplanned weekend. Why Not?, really became my theme for the weekend as it seems to be becoming a common phrase in my life. When I arrived at Katy’s apartment I knew this would be a good weekend. 

 

We filled our weekend with random bits of awesomeness. Sparing details for some things in life are just kept in the moment and should really stay in Baltimore. I can say we had fun, not because we did something so extreme, but because sometimes the most ordinary things can become extraordinary when you don’t limit yourself to the known. 

 

A bricked up old door suddenly can be the gates to Narnia, and bring joy to those to a group of strangers. Hours of SNL can make a lazy afternoon fly by and become funny when seeing old skits for the first time, Single Ladies Skit, amazing. A foam sword bought at a local toy store can bring hours of enjoyment, around 12 hours to be exact. Yes, we were people who dressed in matching plaid shirts and headed out for the night with foam swords. Think we are crazy, it’s ok. Not long ago I would have thought it crazy and probably refused to do it, because it was stupid or I would stand out. But in the moment and in life, why not just get out and live a little and have a sword fight at a bar, and not get kicked out. When someone did ask why we carried around foam swords, my answer was, Why Not?, then followed by, When was the last time you did something purely because it was fun. Not forced fun either, for the fun we had this weekend was pure. Pure fun is something that gets lost as we grow up. We get sucked into our lives, we become professionals and forget pure fun, fun for funs sake.

 

So what did I take from this weekend other and exercising my liver and dehydration, I remembered how to just have fun, how to be goofy. Just be in the moment, and enjoy. This weekend was epic but in a completely organic way, nothing was planned it just evolved and happened. So did we ever find Narnia, no but I did find another part of me, the one that I have spent years burying deep within me, the one who just does, with disregard for how others will judge. To me it reinforces just why Katy and the other women I am so close to are so important in my life, they help me unlock the parts of myself that are hidden away and need a little encouragement to come out, and maybe a foam sword to help. Thank you to Josh and Katy for making an unplanned weekend into an unforgettable one!