I had a completely different plan tonight.  One that went something like skipping a workout, heading to Sound & Cinema at the Long Center, and braving a crowd.  And then I didn’t want to do it.  I wanted to swim.  And then I wanted Dickie’s spaghetti and the comfort of their house in our neighborhood.  I filled him in on the plan I planned and walked the long way, stopping at my favorite gas station to pick up some tall boys to go with dinner.

I thought a lot of thoughts during this walk.  I thought about why we stop playing and, specifically, when I stopped playing.  I thought about how the younger kids on my block would knock on my door after school and I’d let the dog out and we’d all run around through our yards until we were Florida sweaty.  And then I thought about the point in which that became unappealing and I began to say no.  The point when I had other things to do, fourteen year-old things to do.

And then I thought about my life since moving to Austin and the friendships here that have become the strongest.  And until this long thinking walk, I thought we’d all become so close because we’re dreamers and do-ers and we find joy in one another’s dreaming and doing.  But tonight it became so, so clear why I’ve fallen fast in love with my friends in Austin and the city itself – I started playing again.

And Austin makes a darn good playground.