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

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,

there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own,

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 thank my dear daughter for introducing me to these words of poet Mary Oliver. How perfectly they capture the journey I began today. After much frantic prep work and planning, I have at long last arrived in Tijuana! Flights from BWI to Denver and then to San Diego went without a hitch. Miguel, my driver from the Stella Maris Clinic, met me at the SD baggage claim and transported me across the border and to my hotel. I have a lovely room with a balcony pool-side. I plan to eat a substantial late dinner, since I must show up at the clinic in the a.m. in a fasted state, ready for blood work.

The journey continues.....