verge (vʉrj)
noun
the edge, brink, or margin (of something): also used figuratively the verge of the forest, on the verge of hysteria

verg′·ing
to tend or incline (to or toward)
to be in the process of change or transition into something else; pass gradually (into) dawn verging into daylight




Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Elephant Walking


It was Birthday Weekend and I was swept off my feet by the Birthday Girls and the Birthday Boyfriend.  I was good and stinky after a week of dump runs, chicken coop duty, and puppy rehab for Mercy so I happily welcomed their arrival.  We decided to celebrate the birthdays at the Elephant Walk, a wonderful Cambodian-French restaurant in Waltham where we all passed around our plates and forks, and shared some delicious and exotic food. 

I have to say this next part.  I was right there on the side walk with them.  I laughed out loud with them, and followed them, and hugged each of them as we sashayed our way down the Waltham sidewalks.  At the same time, a part of me was also someplace twenty-something years ago--waiting, watching, pacing, breathing, wondering, and waiting some more... 

I remember my curiosities, my fears, my anticipation.  Who will they be?  Where will they travel? What will their faces say? I knew that these three daughters would be a source of great joy. I knew that for sure.  The rest was such a mystery. And as I was following them down the sidewalk towards the Elephant Walk, I suddenly stepped back for a few minutes to really look.  There they are--there they are. Standing on the sidewalk I breathed through gentle ripples of quiet reverence--today I know who they are, and where they travel, and what their faces say to the world.   

What I could not have known twenty-something years ago, was just how enormous this joy would be.


1 comment:

  1. As always, I love your writing. You have such a way with words and expressing how you feel. Hope we can get together again soon. Patrick Q

    ReplyDelete