Van Ree's Voice

When I look at my life now I am content with where I am at and content with where I have been. But one thing has been missing for a while is my random, always interesting impromptu adventures.

This past weekend I jumped into my “mom-mobile,” as my friends in high school called it, and hit the road.

I was just getting over the flu but my friends gave me an offer that I couldn’t refuse.

In college I was known for hopping in the car and driving down to my relatives’ homes in California (an approximate 12-hour drive) or meeting up with some friends in Oregon on a whim.

I never planned it out and as my mom always said I usually decided the morning of and I “either got in the car or didn’t.” My mother never knew my plans, and neither did I until I threw some clothes in my car and started driving or sat back down on the couch.

A friend of mine in Missouri had asked me a couple months ago if I would meet her and some friends in Manhattan, Kansas for an annual event called Fake Patty’s Day the weekend before the real St. Patrick’s Day.

I had agreed I’d try my best to go but had completely forgotten about it until she brought it up this past week and asked if I would be making it.

At first I thought there was no way I was going to drive all the way to Kansas by myself randomly, and my boyfriend had to work - so it was a no go.

But then I got to thinking of the girl I used to be.

I have come to realize that there is a point when we are all supposed to grow up and not do the things that we once did. At first I told myself that my adventurous days were behind me. But the more I thought about it, I will always have the spontaneous side of me and somethings aren’t meant to be changed.

I brought the topic up to my boyfriend, and as I told him of my possible journey I presented the information to him as if it would be crazy of me to go and that I probably shouldn’t.

His response was simply, “I think you should go. I can tell you want to, so you should.”

His blessing instantly made up my mind, along with a friend of mine in Lincoln telling me she was going through a tough time and wanted me to visit.

I took off after work on Friday, spent the night in Lincoln, and then continued on to Kansas State University Saturday morning.

I was excited to see my friends, meet new people and see new territory.

It turns out I’m pretty sure Dorothy’s house blowing away was such a huge production because it was the only building or life in most of Kansas… the parts I drove through anyway.

But I still greatly enjoyed my drive because I saw lots of green grass and the rain was extremely persistent. Two things I have missed being away from my roots in Washington.

I’m a sucker for meeting new people and being in new towns. I love to explore them and learn about the town’s history – I blame my nerd status on my father.

I tend to think I always like to compare places to my home in Washington and wonder what it would have been like growing up in a different place.

Regardless, I got to my destination and met up with my friend and a van full of Mizzou girls who I would come to find extremely fun and hilarious over the progression of the weekend.

One of the many memories I will always remember is getting lost for a good half an hour just trying to find food in the college town.

Seeing so many green shirts fill the streets reminded me of when I was growing up and how my dad had my brother and I wear orange to school instead of green.

My mom was Irish but my father was full Dutch, so he felt as though we should proudly wear Holland colors instead. Let’s just say by the end of my grade school career I was use to getting pinched on every one of those holidays.

Regardless, the past weekend was nothing short of an adventure. I think sometimes we all get so wrapped up in our day-to-day routine that we don’t think to go out of the box once in a while and do something random that makes us feel alive.

We all do have to grow up, but that doesn’t mean the adventurous spirit in you does too.

Hannah Van Ree can be contacted at [email protected].