Alter Ego

Mild mannered Stacy gets out of bed in the morning when her internal clock starts buzzing, usually around 6am. She then spends the next hour in relative peace and quiet (relative because the cats want fed, the dog wants out, the dog wants in, the cats want running water from the sink, the dog wants fed, the cats want the dog to quit pestering them...) doing normal, hum drum things like loading the dishwasher and staring at the coffee pot trying to remember why she is standing there. About an hour later, when their internal alarm clocks go off, her children will get up and the rest of the day will go roughly the same as it did yesterday. It will be a constant barrage of unanswerable questions and a steady stream of "BrushyourteethmakeyourbedturnthelightsoffwhenyouleavetheroomIloveyoutoodoyourmath
IthoughtItoldyoutobrushyourteethfinishyourlunchofsourseitsthemostbeautifulpicturethatI've
everseenputyourshoesawaygoplayoutside...." This routine is broken only by the weekly trips to the grocery store and the breath of fresh air that is Sunday.

But everyday, when the kids are occupied by some all-engrossing project, this ordinary Stay-at-Home wife and mother assumes the secret identity of Nitrocat and enters the exciting world of Letterboxing! As this Alter Persona, she plans quests for hidden treasure, solves perplexing riddles, and can do things with an Exacto knife she never dreamed were possible. She can also imagine answering the siren song of Thru Hiking, feel the rain of the Moors on her face, and push herself beyond former boundaries. She is creative and deviously clever and has friends all over the globe.

Then the phone rings and the eye doctor wants to know when she can come pick up the new prescription and is she planning on paying the balance of the bill at that time? And Poof! Just like that the costume must be hung in the closet~right next to the dry cleaning~until another time. But inside there is still a sparkle, because she knows that there is more to her than most people realize.

To be continued...