Day 79: My Van Friend, Part One (Hanuman)

I parted ways with my van friend a few days ago to see my mom who is visiting Raleigh, North Carolina. She is here with her partner to see his daughters. Raleigh was only a three-hour drive from where I was with my van friend in Georgia a few days ago and I had been thinking of taking a break from Chester.

My mom and her partner are always open to watching Chester so it seemed like a fitting time to leave my van friend and head to Raleigh. From there, they could take Chester back with them to Pennsylvania and I could slowly head north to New York City to visit my sister, brother, and a friend.

But now I am here in Raleigh, missing my van friend and wanting to keep Chester. Being in the city, I realize that many of my frustrations with Chester come from us being in the van together for long periods of time, in places where I can’t let him out to run free. In the woods, I can do my own thing and Chester can roam and run about unrestricted. This feels right.

With this learning, I will stay close to the woods on my way to New York City. Not the deep woods — because I do want stable internet and appreciate being around others — but places with enough woods where Chester can do as he pleases and not get into too much trouble. Places like Georgia WMA land on Lake Oconee. It seems like there is similar land in Virginia so I’m excited to check that out.

My van friend helped me see how one can live a good life on land like this, from a van and with a dog, with love for nature and a surrender to expectations from others and even yourself. She also taught me how another being can live from a tiny space with you but not cramp your space. She loves her dog so much and it’s beautiful. It reminds me to hug and love Chester, like how Ram hugs Hanuman in the picture she drew for me (with a mechanical pencil).