Well that's... odd.
That fern is waving at me, but there's no wind whatsoever.
I'm trailrunning an old route, and it's been a couple years since I've been here, so I've had my eyes peeled for the turn I need to take to make this a loop. I knew it was around here somewhere, but now I'm a little spooked because I've been trudging up this narrow gravel "road" between a hallway of lush overgrowth, and this single green fern just gave me a royal, cupped-palm wave.
It's like something out of a Disney movie.
More than that, it pointed directly across the path at the obscured entrance to the trail I needed. After glancing to where it was pointing, I looked back, eyes wide, just in time to see it go limp and flop back over among its peers.
What the actual fu—
I catch myself.
Rather than getting hung up on how weird that was, or looking for logical explanations until I found one I was satisfied with, I decide to roll with it.
"Hey, uh... thanks"
Pushing off of my right foot, I spring across the waterbar and clear the wiry wildflowers that were concealing the rocks leading up into the woods, toward the looping trail ahead.
Hello, old friend.
When things go right, do you lead with doubt or keep rolling?
onward.
For more on this daily column and The MAP Year Project, read the backstory here. And if you know someone who'd appreciate this, pass it along.