When I did competitive collegiate speech, one of our mantras was, “Just get to the van.” 

There was something magical about crossing the threshold of those van doors on a Friday afternoon, heading off for a weekend of tournaments. To climb aboard was to accept the point of no return in our weekly routine. All the prep, the practice, and the packing was over, irrevocably, the second we got on the road.

Nothing else to do but do the thing.

Even writing the words, I can feel the deep peace wash over me again, like the Buddha must have felt climbing into his college-sanctioned vehicle with an overstuffed garment bag and a fistful of Tide pens.

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Writing prompt: Write about a time you felt relieved to realize there was no going back.

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