A Tale of Two Stories

This morning EJ and I finalized financial matters so we have money for the move to the Emerald City.

EJ also selected a motel and reserved a room for next week when he begins his new job. He is going without us because it would be too expensive for us to all stay in the motel. EJ and I have never been apart from each other for more than a week–when he went up North during deer season–so being apart will be difficult. However, while he’s up there, he will search for a house for us so we can join him as soon as possible. Meanwhile JJ and I will stay home to care for the pets and start packing.

We have so much to do. I wish that we could have gotten all the projects done–but we have run out of time and will just have to work on the projects when we can. Everything has gone so fast. From the time that EJ first put his resume on the Internet until now has been about a month.

I feel as if we have somehow stepped into two different fairy tales.

The first is the story of The Hobbit. I love an article by Susan Morris that I found today at omnivoracious.com. The article begins:

Hobbits are very concerned about the idea of adventure. As Bilbo said, adventures are “Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!” And I can’t say I much disagree! You have to be a little bit cracked to want to go on an adventure. Think about it. If you had the choice between a comfortable life where you have all the jammy muffins and frosted scones you could wish for, a warm home filled with creature comforts, a strong community–and sleeping outside on the rocky ground in the cold rain eating what sour berries you come across (and perhaps a mangy squirrel if you’re lucky), risking life, limb, and happiness to accomplish some goal you think is for the greater good, which would you choose?

“Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not today. Good morning!”

 But somehow, something “Tookish” wakes in us, and we wish to see great mountains, hear pine trees and waterfalls, explore caves, and trade our walking sticks for swords. And more than that, we actually do it. Drawn into adventure–into risking it all–against our better judgment. So what drives us reluctant heroes to abandon elevensies in favor of hard tack…?

EJ and I are both very Hobbit-ish in that we have a love of family and the coziness of home. but I think we must have a bit of Took in us. The Tooks were a branch of the Baggins family who enjoyed going off on adventures.

I think that we would have been content to have no adventures at all if it weren’t that we became so tired of battling wicked witches, flying monkeys, evil apple trees in gloomy forests, and enchanted soldiers that we found ourselves falling asleep in the poppy field. Especially since JJ’s battle with cancer, we felt so weary that we were in danger of falling asleep in an enchanted field of poppies. We thought, “If we don’t wake up now, we might never wake up.”

So we told God that we wanted to go on an adventure–probably it was actually God’s idea to drag us out of our sleep–and we began our journey along the yellow brick road to the Emerald City, which is our dream destination.

In every telling of the great stories, the Hero’s Journey, the Hero must take leave of what has been comfortable and normal for him or her. We must do this as well when we strike out on a new adventure, and awaken from slumber to the quest. ~ Matt Ragland, 12 Quotes and Lessons From The Hobbit

It’s all kind of scary, but something “Tookish” woke in us, and we wish to see hear pine trees and waterfalls, explore caves, see the stars and northern lights…And more than that, we are actually doing it. Drawn into adventure–into risking it all–against our better judgment...Before, we all felt as if we were merely existing, plodding through our days, but as we go off on our adventure to the Emerald City, in the midst of the stress and scary things, we echo Bilbo Baggins’ words,

“Go back? No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!” So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.

It’s rewarding to see excitement seeping back into our eyes. With each hurdle that we overcome, we exclaim, “I can’t believe this is really happening! WOOT!”

Several years ago, I was thinking about The Hobbit and adventures and I wrote a couple of poems. It seems appropriate to share them here. The first poem is about a reluctant traveler who fearfully goes off on an adventure.

The Adventurer

Right after I wrote this poem, I wrote a poem about a Safe Adventurer. Both adventurers started out content to sit in their rocking chairs and read about adventures, but the true Adventurer actually went out and had the adventures–and grew through them. The Safe Adventurer never did. He never faced the danger and never reaped the benefits.