Last week, I took a tiny road trip with my best friend to the Houston Zoo and, per usual ,we were having the most random conversations.
I like to think that the utter randomness was just an organic manifestation of us being too busy with work to hang out in person until then.
Well, that and probably a heaping helping of ADHD-impaired impulse control that turned us into chatterboxes.
If anything, it reminds me of how often I got in trouble in elementary school by talking too much and being moved around the classroom.
However, that never really stopped me and if I was mad enough at my teacher or classmates I’d talk to the plants on the window sill just to continue to be a weird little disruption.
My mom calls that “being a brat” but I just happily remind her that half of my genetics are her fault so she’s got some “brat” genes in herself somewhere.
Aside from that, my friend and I were stringing together topics that ran the gamut from pop culture to personal instances and work-related business to discussing attempting to plan our next outing.
I mean, sure, we keep in contact via social media almost daily, but sometimes I’m just too lazy to type out a whole story or instance and save up the item for an in-person conversation.
It’s easier just to send each other reels or video clips with a quick note rather than typing out several sentences.
Not to mention, but there’s little to no pressure about replying instantly through social media as there is during in-person interactions.
Social media allows us to communicate at our own pace and we’ve agreed that we save phone calls for actual emergencies or time-sensitive matters.
The rest of our chat topics just flow as they will and it’s even like that when we’re on the road.
Keeping our conversations flowing means that the boring part of our trips – the drive – goes by much quicker and we can share plenty of laughs in the meantime.
There are lulls in conversation sometimes that fill with background music or intermittent phone calls from other family and friends, but overall, I like to think that we get more out of our adventures.
Usually, they serve multiple purposes besides just fun or food – we run errands and get in a decent amount of exercising, too.
For me, it’s nice to take a small break from work and the household to be free from constant demands that aren’t centered on something that I deem fun.
And yes, I find running some errands to be fun – especially if it is out of town and offers a change of scenery.
But, let’s get one thing abundantly clear – this is not bashing what we do have in our county or city.
We’re poised for growth and I’m excited to see how that continues to change and shape Bay City and the county.
I just hope that the growth is logical rather than just a mad dash to keep up with the Joneses in other nearby towns.
Cool, new things are always welcome but having the support to keep them here – that’s what I’m questioning.
Especially on that long drive taking SH 59 all the way to the Houston Zoo.