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There was a time in my life when I had three teenagers living in my home. That should be plenty to explain why I would escape regularly out the door to my path around the ranch. It was the only place I could go where nobody would follow me.

The hormone crew consisted of two boys, a senior and a junior in high school, and one eighth grade girl who was, by the way, red-headed. There were times when the house actually reeked of testosterone and estrogen! Did they interact? Oh, yes! Was it explosive? Oh, yes!

For some reason I loved getting out of the house for my walk. There was something comforting about the constant rhythm of my pounding feet on the caliche. It was regular and predictable and there were no explosive surprises. If there were any surprises, they were very interesting surprises.

Every curve I rounded had the possibility of a chance encounter with some form of nature. The cotton-tailed bunnies usually froze when they heard me coming. I would find them in a statue pose, noses twitching as they tried to figure out whether to stay frozen or scatter into the brush. Usually, they did both.

I once watched an episode of "Wild Encounters" unfold before me on the path. For the previous several days, I had been forced to abandon my trail and go around the big tarantula standing squarely in the middle of my path. I must confess that I thought bad thoughts about that creature. It stood up on its back legs if I got too close and I guess I just did not appreciate its attitude. It reminded me of my teenagers. On the fourth day, as I rounded the bend, I saw a tarantula wasp very busily stuffing the paralyzed body of my former foe into a hole in preparation for laying of her eggs. The body of the tarantula would now be used as food for the growing wasp brood. Suddenly, I felt sorry for the tarantula. It made me realize that my problems were not as bad as they could be. At least, my teenagers were not feeding off of me!

Most of the time, I simply enjoyed the constant pace and the sunshine on my face as I drew closer to God and His world. It made me realize that He had everything under control, even my teenagers. I am happy to announce that they did grow up and become good people. One is a policeman, one a chemical engineer and one an RN. But, I must confess that I absolutely needed that time on the trail for my own sanity. It was always good to breathe air that was not polluted with hormones. I always came home much more composed and able to deal with my family than before I left.

Learn more about this author, Karen Crumley.
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