Suzanne was out the door yesterday morning before sunrise, running down a paved road first and then, with first light, ducking into the woods and the old trails she knows so well. At midday she  took Copper for a walk, and, in the late afternoon, she, Claire and I drove to a southern stretch of the Cross-County trail and strolled it together.

I didn’t think of this in the countdown days before Suzanne arrived, but now that she’s here it seems perfectly natural. When you return home after a long absence your feet seek firm ground. Walking becomes a way to reacquaint yourself, to re-enter the landscape.

Walking does this for me, of course; it’s a way to ground myself and put life in perspective. But it’s nice to see my children walking, too. All three girls run or walk —they move through the world to help the world make sense. I hope they always do.


(Suzanne and Claire on the Cross-County Trail.)