August 12, 2013 was incredibly hot and humid in Washington DC. When my husband said, “Let’s walk The Mall!” I bit my tongue. I love to walk, but my tired, hot and hungry boys might have been overestimating their stamina. One of them was already cranky, and I remembered The National Mall, the area between the US Capitol and Lincoln Memorial, as being, well…long.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
–The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost
From the moment the alarm clock rings, the decisions start – get up or sleep in, decaf or regular, eggs or cereal, casual or dress, CNN or Fox News, and so the decisions go all day long.
Sometimes, the deciding moment has a person in it. And sometimes it’s a person with a need.
Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I love this poem. Not because at first it seems to encourage adventure, or because it’s actually a bit of a mind-twister, or even because it has that rhythm that lulls you into never-never land.
I love this poem because it brings you into the beauty in the moment of the decision. A yellow wood undisturbed in the morning. The soft crunch of leaves in the still cool autumn air. A lone traveler, a long pause, and a decision. Someday the traveler will look back and come to his own conclusion about the outcome of his decision. But for now, there is only the beauty of the moment and the endless possibilities that lay in wait as the sun burns off the morning dew. A single moment, held still for all time. Two roads, and one that will make all the difference.
There is overwhelming beauty and possibility in the moment of decision. There is an invitation. Pick a road.
Austin is almost three, and an absolute joy to be with. He has that wide-eyed wonder of a child looking at life for the first time and seeing it for the true miracle it is….every rock, stick, and animal he comes across. Especially animals. Austin is obsessed with animals.
He is also full of energy, and an only child. Watching his parents reminds me of the time I was a young parent of an only child, a child who was bouncy, blustery, full-of-energy and wide-eyed wonder, and how exhausting it was to keep up. So whenever we are around Austin and his family, I zoom in on Austin pretty quick and try to get him to play with me. I think I am making progress; at least, he likes me when he sees me with my dog.
Unruly Hope 