Alone

I went out for a walk yesterday.  I took one of my more uncommon routes, and I was surprised with how the foliage had grown over on to the boardwalks.  It was actually sort of magical. 
At dinner that night, my Mom mentioned that I should take my Dad on these walks with me.  "The entire point of these walks is to be alone," I said. 
This is sort of a lie.  When I'm at home, yes, the goal of these walks is to be alone.  But when I was at school, it was more just a break from schoolwork and attempt to get fresh air.  Occasionally someone like Paul would join me on a walk, and I never minded. 
Today, I hear that everyone is out, celebrating being back together after a long summer.  (This summer appears to me to be the longest one I can remember.)  Everyone is going back to school, except for me. 
I really miss that great feeling of seeing everyone again.  I miss the hugs.  I miss flubbing through my words because I am too excited to slow down.  I miss climbing into my bed late at night, finally feeling like I'm home again.  I'm going to try not to miss taking walks just because it is a beautiful day.