Maps

June 19, 2019 by Adam in Adam

I stepped off the treadmill at lunch and found Sam packing up his room into cardboard boxes.  He seemed a little quiet, understanding the scope of the changes ahead.  There were some things that had been in his room for a decade or so that belonged to me - books, maps, and old RPG manuals.  I told him he could take what he wanted.

He handed me a map he'd found from a D&D game I used to play with Sam and Emma.  It was a town that they saved and built up, working together to drive out assorted evils and help the villagers.  I remember Emma was never quite sure what to do and would sometimes leave Sam behind in some spooky mine to get advice from the town elder.  Things didn't go well for Sam and they eventually learned not to split the party.

Another time Sam and Emma and I went camping out in the woods and I handed Sam a walkie talkie to go explore while Emma and I followed the stream.  Sam headed through the deep brush, returning scratched up and cheerful.  He loves maps, but has never been afraid to head off towards the edges where things aren't as well defined.

It's strange having the first of the kids to head out.  It feels like the end of an era and I'm not quite sure how to read the map ahead.  Though I worry, I hope all the adventures, real and imagined, have prepared them to journey out into the world.  I wish them well.