Time thief

On a cozy, secluded hill in North Carolina sits a pine tree, tall and majestic. The sun beats down upon it's needles, baking them and arousing their sweet, intoxicating aroma. Gather a hundred of them together and you'd swear you were in your grandmother's kitchen on pie day. Let your eyes follow down from the needles, over the pine cones and through the jagged roadways of uneven bark and sap. Follow the trunk as it widens toward the nurturing earth, and find a young man sitting among the roots. His sandy-golden locks flutter to and fro, seemingly dancing with the coastal wind. It's warm this time of the year, but not so strong as to disturb and peaceful sit atop the hill.

Notice the young man long enough, and you will catch him glancing at his watch, each time with a more concerned look upon his bronzed face. He's doing so in the manner of a man waiting on his date for the evening, worried that they'll miss the show or their dinner reservations. The young man is not worried about the cause of the loss of time, but rather the fact that it is being lost at all. Yet, he remains, as calmly as he can, against the trunk of the tree.

The heavy silence of the hill is broken with a crisp, shrill shriek. Someone is in trouble, and the young man has lept to his feet and is 3 yards away before you have even processed the sound. No, no it couldn't have been a troubled shriek, because now there is laughter. It was one of shock, yet pleasant surprise. The young man has noticed this as well, as his pace has slowed, and a relieved smile has spread across his lips.

His son is bounding up the hill, trying to run away from the evil monster, Mommy. Their playful sounds now light up the hill, and the air is alive with the energy of love. Pure, unadulterated, family love.

The time thief was a line at the port-a-potty down the hill, near the parking lot. The young family had escaped the routine of the suburbs for the day for some peace and quiet. Yet, the call of the nature must be answered, just not always in nature.

And so there they romped. Around and around the great pine they played, joyously chasing each other with no clear intent other than to exhaust themselves. Soon, it would be time for a nap. But now ... now was the time.... just the time.