escape fantasy

Where I drive to work, the road I take partway eventually becomes one of the major north-south routes in my state. I turn left to get to my campus before it becomes the highway.

Once in a while - it happened again this morning - as I was driving to work, I very briefly imagined (while I was waiting for traffic to clear) just keeping on driving north, not turning, not going into work, just keeping going, driving up the highway with the air conditioner blasting on me and my music playing, instead of going in to my chronically overheated office and from there, to the stuffy classroom.

But I didn't. I didn't, because I have to give a test today. And I know people would wonder and worry where I was. I am so predictable, apparently, that if my car's not in the lot at 7:30 or so when the secretary arrives, she calls my house to make sure I'm not sick.

And also, of course, all I had with me was my purse and my textbooks and the lunch I packed. If I drove far enough - as far as I really wanted to - I'd have to stop and buy things like a toothbrush and pajamas and clothes for the next day.

But I have to admit, I'm tired enough and burnt out enough that just driving north, relentlessly north, and just leaving everyone and everything that has a pull on me here behind, was fairly tempting.