Mountian Lions, Tigers and Bears

Well, maybe not Tigers, unless you count that T~ is from Michigan near Detroit and kind of follows them with baseball.

Sometimes there are moments that are intimate and to be shared between two people and those two people alone.  Other times there are moments of clarity that point to something more important, something validating and too fantastic not to share.  And I do not want to forget this moment.

When I went to visit California in June, I asked T~ if he would like to join me.  He was excited about the opportunity to adventure with me to the west coast to northern California.  It was a fantastic trip with visiting family and friends, enjoying the peace of the pristine wilderness and getting to visit the Redwoods.

One evening, I wanted to go and look at the stars away from the campground along the lake.  It would really be a great place to see the vast sky without the noise of light or tops of trees.  My aunts warned it was not the best idea to venture away from the campground at night at this time of year because there were not enough campers with their noise to chase away the bear and mountain lions.  But, it was just too tempting not to try to take a little stroll.

As T~ and I were walking and talking along the road down to the marina, we heard a rustling sound in the dark brush along the side of the path.  We both stopped, looked at each other and confirmed that we both heard the same noise.  I cannot remember who suggested that we should leave, but we were in agreement and quickly pivoted in the other direction.  It was a blur, gut reaction kind of moment where we grabbed each other and ran like mad together.

My first thoughts were run, run, run...fast, fast, fast. 

Then I thought, oh, hope this is not the way I am going to die.  I do not want to be that person who was warned not to go into the woods at night with the woodland animals with their sharp teeth and sharp claws.  I just wanted to look at the stars!

Then as we were still clinging to each other and clumsily running, my heart wanted to melt and I fell in love with T~ all over again.  In a moment of perceived danger, his first instinct was to grab me and run, and mine was to grab him and run.  It was selfless and wonderful and I couldn't help but smile, even if there was the possibility that it would be the end.

At that point T~ and I started to slow and broke the space between us as we continued to jog while holding hands.  We looked back down the road and when we didn't see anything, we slowed again to a fast walk as we approached the campground.  We laughed and hugged and were glad that we made it back safely.

I told T~ I was so touched by his actions and how he handled the situation.  I didn't feel silly for being afraid that it could have been something more lurking the dark.  I commented that if it had been a bear, it probably would have been faster.  And if it had been a mountain lion, we probably would not have even heard it coming.  He joked that he was afraid that since I am a more experienced runner that if he had not held onto me that I would have out paced him and he would have been eaten by the wild animal.  But in seriousness, he wanted me to be safe, for us to be safe.  It meant a lot to me.