THE JOURNEY...

The Journey

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


I am so aware that I can only SAVE my own life....and although that seems totally selfish I realize that it is the RIGHT thing to do....I have to mend too....I have to heal also...I have to be whole. It has again come to my attention the role of caregiver...and I am tired these days...wishing for a reprieve....So DISNEY can not come soon enough for me....Where I will laugh with the Mouse...enjoy the delight of a small child...and sit by the pool in the warm sun....

3 comments:

NicciN said...

Thank you for this. I am so happy for your taking your trip. I can't wait to hear all about it.

Pat Dalke said...

Dear Pattie:

I'm so glad that you recognize this! My husband suspended his chemo treatments for colon cancer last Spring in order to go back to Atlanta with me and take care of our son. This winter he has been taking care of me, I had hip replacement surgery, and working parttime at Home Depot. His candle is very close to being burned out. I'm hoping that in the upcoming weeks he will find renewal time. Fishing at our little cottage in Michigan is his escape.

Here's to the CARETAKERS in our lifes, what would we do without them!

Take care and heal with sun and laughter.

Pat Dalke

Tina said...

"So DISNEY can not come soon enough for me....Where I will laugh with the Mouse...enjoy the delight of a small child...and sit by the pool in the warm sun...."
This makes my heart smile!
xoxox