The Long Way Home

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice –
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do –
determined to save
the only life you could save.

~ Mary Oliver ~
The Journey


I spent the afternoon with someone who I first met as a teenager.
I'm now a mum of three and she's now a Granny.
We spent the afternoon pushing toy diggers and cars along the floor to entertain a 14 month-old.


I took the long way home to enjoy reflecting on what she means to me.
It helped that it was a beautiful evening and there was no guilt in standing at the edge of a wheat field (or is it barley?) watching the Golden Hour unfold.
Then I remembered that the lay-by I was parked in has a certain reputation so I got back in the car and drove home!