I am in the midst of reading Hunger Games.  If you need a complete escape from life that will take over your thoughts and consume you while you’re reading, this is it.  I jumped on the bandwagon and am so happy I did.  Sister K and I are reading them together.  We have tried to get Mom to but she’s not very interested.  That’s fine because it has given Sister K and I something new to bond over, as if we needed one more thing. 

Hunger Games also provides a much needed escape.  How often in life we just need an escape and we can’t exactly pack up and head to a beach everyday.  Mom is escaping these days through games on her iPad- scramble, words with friends and newest draw with friends.  Sometimes we escape through television shows and discuss them together, The Bachelor is a big family favorite.  Our poor Dad.  But the point is no matter what it is, sometimes you need an escape. 

At lunch today Mom and I were talking about friends of mine who have started to have babies.  I told her I didn’t feel ready for that and she said well I am in no hurry for that either.  Her reasoning though is different than most Moms’ reasoning or what you would imagine- she is scared.  She is scared of her physical limitations as a mother to me and a grandmother to someone else when the time comes.  She is scared she won’t be able to offer me the support I need like her Mom helped her when I was first born.  She is scared of this because it is a big unknown.  What is also an unknown is how Mom’s physical state will be when this time comes.  I told her we would just deal with that when the time comes and made some silly jokes about making Sister K come and Mom could just bark orders at her while I caught up on sleep.  And she laughed, but at the same time it doesn’t change things.  It doesn’t fix the unknown for us. 

So after we had that chat I needed an escape.  I’m not running from problems or fears but at the same time this is one specifically I can’t dwell on because I can feel my mind beginning to go crazy when I think about the topic too much.  I can feel myself get upset.  It’s hard when the future used to bring a sense of anticipation and excitement of things to look forward to for our family and now those moments have an underlying sense of fear. 

So I escape.  I have Hunger Games to thank for that escape today.  Another moment it may be a tv show or a blog. The important thing though is to escape.  I know it’s healthy.  It allows me to take a break, to refocus so the parts of the future that are scary and unknown aren’t the front of my mind at a time when it’s not necessary for them to be there.    

Do you believe in escaping from life sometimes? What’s your escape?