Last week, on April 16th to be exact, it was a beautiful day in the City of Minneapolis. In Minnesota, or any state that spends the majority of the year in the cold, these days are welcomed with enthusiasm. People are out running, walking, and sitting outside at restaurants sipping cocktails and taking in the non-freezing, fresh air. On April 16th, my man and I were among these people.

We started out with thoughts of food and cocktails in an outdoor setting on our mind. We had an idea of where we would go, but were flexible, just in case things were crowded. After walking for a while, stopping for martini’s and sandwiches, then walking some more and stopping for a couple more drinks, we decided it was time to head home. Now, everything up to this point was fun and an adventure of sorts, but the walk home is where our true adventure occurred.

The beginning of the walk home was pretty standard for us, chatting, making up stories and laughing. We usually end up creating intricate scenarios about the people we see, and at some point aliens always happen into the conversation (yes, I am obsessed with aliens). Once we arrived at an under-construction, yet possible short-cut home, however, the conversation changed to contemplation of our potential endeavor.

What we had come upon was a bridge. And, as I mentioned previously, it was under-construction. In the dark, we couldn’t see well enough to tell from one end to the other if we’d be able to make it all the way across. We could see a large piece of construction equipment sitting in the middle of it though, so that was proof enough for me that it could indeed hold our weight, so we started making our way-until we came to this concrete wall. My man was hesitant and ready to go back and take the long way, but I spotted a ladder-like apparatus in the far corner of the wall–yes, we did decided to climb up.

The first thing we noticed at the top was the instant brightness of a motion sensing light from one of the houses just off of the construction. It kinda’ made us feel like rebels, which we obviously are It also brought me memories of my youth in rural Minnesota, venturing into old abandoned farm houses & barns, exploring under bridges and just daring to enter those places that didn’t belong to me, places I shouldn’t have been, but that were openly accessible.

Although I am a rule follower, I am also one who, if the rule does not seem logical, will ignore it to fit my needs. Even though I knew many of these places were off limits, I wasn’t hurting anyone, so why not? This evening brought me back to that place, a place where my actions were my own. I know it sounds silly, but as a mom, every time I do anything I have to run it through my mental checklist: will this work for the kids, will it affect their schedules, will I be able to feed them if I do that, will they end up in therapy of I do this, etc. But on that bridge, I felt carefree. It was just me and my love, sneaking through where we shouldn’t be, because we wanted to check it out, and really, we weren’t hurting anyone.

Eventually, after squeezing through some metal rods onto a walk way that was obviously used by the workers, we made it to the other side. We were proud of ourselves for not only our cleverness in trying, but also for not hurting ourselves.

I don’t think we’ll be looking for more adventures like this one, but, if the opportunity presents itself…maybe next time, we’ll take my kids with

P.S. Regarding the picture, we also walked pass the Parking Lot Park, a must see if you’re ever in NE Minneapolis