While I really hate working in the city, it gives me more to appreciate when I take drives like today. I love the area Derek and I chose to settle. I'm an hour from the city, about 20 minutes from the Yalgir Bay, 10 minutes from the largest river in the state, and a short 30 minute drive to where I am now: surrounded by thick forest with fields of wildflowers sporadically blooming. If I drive another 30 minutes, I'd be at the base of Amaranth Peak. What more could I ask for.

The water has always been naturally peaceful for me. I can close my eyes and feel the wind on my body, imagine the rocking of the vessel, and hear the lapping of water against the boat. Near land you can hear the hissing of wind as it infiltrates the sea grasses. Smell the brine of the water, mixed with a slight smell of decay, which warns of low tide. Sigh. It's been too long since I've been on the water.

The water may be peaceful for me, but being out here, surrounded by trees... now that feels like home. I can't tell you why, but I've always felt safe encircled by these towering oaks. The sunlight desperately tries to break through the canopy, succeeding occasionally, casting rays of gold down to the forest floor. Ferns unfurling from the mossy sheets laid between trees. Mushrooms of all shape and color thriving in the deepest, darkest recesses. The forest, especially this forest, seems more fantasy than real life. We don't come here enough.

I glance at Derek, he's scrolling through his phone, looking at God knows what. I elbow him in the side, "Dude. Get out of your phone, enjoy a little bit of real life." He looks at me like I'm crazy, makes a dramatic show of looking both left and right, "Oh look, trees, grass, ooooh, ahhhh. Thanks for that." I roll my eyes at him, "Smartass!"

He chuckles to himself, happy to get a reaction from me. "What do we need here? If we're driving all this way, it better be for more than just some shredded pine bark." I keep my eyes on the road, "but they have the BEST pine bark! But if you wannnnt, we can get some more fertilizer for the garden, the corn really did a number on the soil last year."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

He looks at me, "if I want? Me? You're the one obsessed with growing enough produce to feed a small army." I laugh because I know it's true, "you know gardening is a stress reliever for me! There's something so relaxing in watching something grow from nothing."

I've always had a green thumb. As long as I can remember, I've always had something growing somewhere. From mung beans sandwiched between a few wet paper towels in my nightstand, to cucumber plants in old milk jugs in the side yard, to now a fairly massive garden encompassing our entire backyard. (And maybe even a bit of our side yard, if I'm honest.)

Reason #536 I love Derek: he supports me in all my hobbies, no matter how crazy or mundane.

He calls me a 'skill collector.' I tend to pick up random hobbies pretty regularly. I know how to grow shit (obviously), I can fish, crab, sew, forage for food, make a basket, start a fire, ride a horse; the list honestly goes on and on. That doesn't even touch on all of the emergency/survival medical knowledge I've picked up along the way. Things like how to deliver a baby, how to reduce dislocated joints, how to relieve a tension pneumo with needle thoracostomy, etc etc.

He always jokes that he's only supportive just in case there's a zombie apocalypse one day, I'll be able to single handedly restart civilization.

I don't know about a zombie apocalypse, but I do really enjoy adding to my basic life skills. Pretty much everyone can make themselves dinner. But I can make myself dinner with food I grew myself over a fire that I built myself with two sticks and my bare hands.

My constant learning makes me feel I'm living a life that's at least evolving. If I simply worked my three 12 hour shifts, then spent my days off shopping or plopped in front a of TV, I'd feel like I was wasting my life away. (Trust me, I know - there are periods where I feel hella depressed and do just that.) At least my rudimentary skill collection keeps me moving forward.

I'm working towards living a 'life worth living,' but I'm just not there yet. Something always seems to be missing.

We finally arrive at JT's, though I was enjoying my time in the car. Maybe I'll be able to talk Derek into a detour on the way home. We walk inside, I take a deep breath and sigh, "ahhhh, doesn't this place smell amazing!?" He shakes his head, "if you say so, crazy."