Ladies and gentlemen, I finally bought that backpack I’ve been muttering about for so long. It went on sale in a way that was too good to resist, so I did it. I’m still a little squeamish about the numbers, so I won’t tell you what they are, but the backpack has arrived.

It’s a Gossamer Gear Mariposa. Weighs slightly under two pounds. You can look, if you want, but as I said, it was on sale when I bought it, so that is not the price I actually paid.

If this were a normal year, I’d be taking it to Yellowstone with me.

As of right now? No, I don’t have any real plans. Nothing that justifies a new backpack, anyway. And maybe that’s why I deserve one. (Well, looky here. If I compare backpacks to hotel rooms, it’s a bargain. Between the sale and the quarantine, I’m saving money.)

The longer I think about it, the more reasonable quitting my job and hiking to Maine sounds.

For now, I’ll settle for a few days out, and not buying anything that wouldn’t fit into the stretch goal of hiking to Maine. I’m not quitting my job yet.

It’s a little amazing how fast the idea went from being a joke between coworkers to being something that I’m really thinking of doing. Something I believe I can do.

Oh, dear. That should have been a subjunctive. Something I could do. You know… if I wanted to.