The Late Summer

She was walking in front of me and walking with the road. There were tall trees on either side of the dirt road. There was a strip of green grass going down the middle which was the gap between the tires of the tractors and trucks that would come down it every once in a while. She had her shoes off and was plodding down the road with confidence swirling around her. The pedals that had fallen of the trees that were tall and that stood on either side had grabbed onto that confidence and swirled with her, and around her.

“babe, catch up what are you doing back there, cman now Coohlter, the day is young catch up”

“I’m just taking it in, we don’t have to get there too quickly do we? We can take in the day for a little longer can’t we”

“Cman babe I want to hold your hand cman catch up please”

Since she asked so nicely I thought I would just catch up. I jogged up to her to hold her hand. We walked down the country road for a little while longer taking in the breeze, taking in the warm air, and taking in the sights.

“I can smell the ocean babe, we gettin closer, I can feel it in my bones”

“Oh yeah, is it all coming back now? Your childhood and all?”

“Yes” she said with a smile and looked back into the countryside. “We would come out here in late summer to just see the ocean from here. It wasn’t that we wouldn’t ever go see the ocean, but it was different here, you know?”

“yeah I know exactly what you mean”

As we walked down the dirt road, on the green grass strip to the ocean view I couldn’t remember why we didn’t drive instead of walk all the way down this road but I realized it didn’t matter. I didn’t care that we walked and it started to hit me that it is the journey to everything and I don’t quite know if we had driven that I would’ve been able to see this beauty as much as I did. I wouldn’t have been able to see the swing of her hips every time she stepped or the way she would yell “babe” over her shoulder in wanting me to catch up. I noticed that I wouldn’t have been able to smell the blend of the country air and the ocean air and suns gaze wouldn’t have been so powerful. I noticed that I have to take in moments as moments that all lead to an end and its not necessarily the end, but the exhibition of getting there.