Sneaking Out
When I was a child, I'd sneak out at night. It was monumentally stupid, not only because I was young and alone but also because I'd had problems breathing the cooler air.
My parents told me that I'd been rushed to the hospital once when I was three because I'd been gasping. I had stopped breathing in the car on the way and my mother had do rescue breathing for me. It worked and I was able to breathe again on my own before my father pulled in to the emergency lane at the hospital. From then on, I was kept inside at night. I remember being mad that I couldn't stay out past nightfall on Halloween and the Fourth of July. (Fireworks aren't as fun to watch through an attic window.)
So for me, there was always a fascination with the night. I'd sit and watch the moon and stars through the window while my mother and sister slept and my father was at work. When I was seven, after my sister ran away, I started to leave the house and venture into the dark.
It took a long time for me to work up the courage to leave the yard. At first, I was too scared to do more than walk slowly. Even though I would carry my inhaler with me, I still ran the risk of being away from home, gasping for air in the middle of nowhere with no one around to help me. But, the call of the night was too strong.
As time went on, I traveled further from my home. I started running along the winding country roads, jumping over the ditches and into the woods. My favorite nights were when there was moonlight. I LOVED the moon, and still do. I became grateful to it for all that it gave me. The moon was my inspiration. It was my companion and guide. Nothing could touch me, nothing could hurt me and I wasn't alone because there it there. I was free to explore to my heart's content. I was free to be wild and crazy.
Do you want to know something? Through all of the times and the years that I wandered out into the darkness alone, I never had a single asthma attack. I still consider that another gift of the moonlight.
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today's morning when shaving I was thinking about the steemkeepers and where it went..
You know, your bathroom seems to be a great place for you to think, my vampiric friend! 🛀
yes I don't know, the bathroom works as a collector of ideas..I like the steemkeepers, as much as our lovely-creepy Old Steemians Home :-)
He did a great job setting it up, didn't he? 😉 Plus Steem Keepers has been soo supportive to everyone!
We share this love of the night. I grew up very rural with few companions so I learned to amuse myself. Once my parents realized I had enough smarts to find my way home, I could walk freely at night. I left as the sun set and walked for miles alone on quiet dirt roads beneath the stars. My early creativity surely was germinated during those solo walks in rural Pennsylvania. I can imagination your unbridled sense of freedom slipping out into the forbidden night air. I'm glad you were able to experience it!
Thank you, Janelle! 💙 It's terrific that you were able to wander to your heart's content and your memories sound so lovely! I'm glad that you shared that with me! There is a wonder to the night, a magic that gives so much inspiration!
You're welcome. Thank you for reviving those memories. Few times felt so free as those. hugs!
This story does leave the reader with many unanswered questions, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing! I am impressed by the adventurous spirit you had, even as a child.
Thank you! It took a long time to work up the courage to leave the yard. By the time I went out at night, we were living in the countryside and it is sooo dark without the moon and stars! I always called my nights out adventures, my mother called them stupid. To be fair, they were. I shudder to think of my girls wandering out alone at night.
Wow you were really a brave kid,well we share something in common there,i so loved the moon and used to sit in groups of other kids to tell stories
Thanks fellow moon lover! 😎 Telling stories together must have been a lot of fun!
Thank you for sharing this with me, all of us.
You wrote this so beautifully that I could feel the whole story and things untold too.
Love and Hugs
I loved the moon too when younger and the night. I always felt safe too.
Where did the time go? I'm sorry that I'm just commenting now Snook. Thank you for reading it hon! 💞 I'm so touched that you thought it was beautiful and I just knew that you'd understand! 🤗 I'm happy that you had the night and moon there for you when you were younger. I know how much it can mean. We've found even more things that we share, yay!!! Love you!! 💓
Wow, Brisby, There is so much in this story. Is it fiction or true? if true, I am so glad that you survived and also, that the moon makes you happy. And what happened with your sister?
Thank you Marianne. It's true. My family says that I had childhood asthma and the doctor prescribed me inhalers but that never seemed to stop my parents from smoking like chimneys. I stopped receiving the inhalers by the time I was a teen though. Plus I was always fine in gym class and on the playground. Any attacks that I can recall were always stress induced. The fear of something happening to me probably made my parents overcautious, my family is prone to extremes. My father had a long history of breathing problems (so yes, his smoking over a pack a day was as dumb as me sneaking out) so that probably fed into it. My sister was my mother's child from her first marriage and she was miserable having my father and I in her life, so she ran away to live with her boyfriend when she was a teen. (There's more to it than that but that's as much as I feel like sharing, sorry.) She's doing very well for herself now and has much more happiness in her life with her children and husband (not the same guy).
Thank you!! I am glad that you are okay now and hopefully have found ways to deal with stress that are not attacking yourself. And am glad that your sister is happy now. Families are so complicated!!
I love this. It talks about freedom, exploring and overtaking your limits and fears. It reminds me of the attitude of my wife and the call of nature that pushed her to explore when she was in Africa. I also have that call when I see my mountains peaks full of snow in winter.. You really are a natural born vampire. And his could be a very elegant beginning of a vampire story :-)
Grazie, F3nix! I feel weird when I share my memories online like this so when a friend stops by to comment, it means a lot to me! 🤗 That call to explore is hard to resist. Too long and I feel like something is missing, the adventure is out there! I really want to meet 3-D Awesome wife! She sounds more and more amazing each time you mention her! Ha! Yes, I'll always be a devout lover of the night! Although, I also LOVE to sit in sunbeams (good thing I have a strong sunblock!)
Sunblock for our transparent vampire skin! I truly hope that one day you'll be our guest, once that finally we can be called a family and live again together. We'll tour you around and visit a lot of crypts :-PpP
Brave and crazy, especially knowing what the night air could do to you. I would give credit to the moon also for keeping you safe. Now I know why you liked my moon photos so much. : )
I was so scared at first! The moon made it possible to see and feel less afraid but I'd still had no desire to end up having an attack. Honestly, I can't remember ever having an attack at night, even before I snuck out. But yes, I've always loved the moon and your photos were spectacular!
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STOPWow, that was a great insight into your youth @brisby and kind of scary too!!
Goes out and buys double locks for my doors, so my 2 munchkins don't try to sneak out at night!
Thank you! Good idea about the locks! I make it a point to NOT oil the squeaky hinges on my children's bedroom door! 😉
Great idea with leaving the hinges squeeky!! Never thought of that!!