Too often we let the troubles of the day keep us from finding our joy and releasing (as my wife would say) our inner child, yet it is in difficult times that we need our joy and that child the most.
Beautifully said, Rick. I think that’s very true — in difficult times especially, we need those small moments that bring us back to joy, lightness, and that part of ourselves we too easily set aside. Thank you for commenting. - CW
Carol, that line about “somewhere farther away than we actually traveled” is the whole thing. Most people chase distance, but what they’re really after is that shift in texture, the slight change in how a place holds you. You described that without overworking it, which is rare.
What stayed with me is how grounded this is in a specific life moment. Not abstract nostalgia, not polished reflection, but that quiet need for something steady when everything around you feels unstable. Those small, repeatable escapes that don’t look like much from the outside but end up carrying more weight than the big trips.
I’ve felt a version of that on the road as well. You can cross countries and feel nothing, and then a random small place just locks in. Not because of what’s there, but because of when you arrive.
You clearly have a strong instinct for noticing those moments and putting them into words without flattening them. That’s the kind of writing people don’t just read once.
If the rest of your pieces go this deep and this specific, you shouldn’t keep them half-open. This is the kind of work people will pay to stay close to.
Thank you, Mats. This is such a thoughtful reading, and I’m grateful for it. You caught exactly what I was trying to hold onto in the piece — that certain places matter not only because of where they are, but because of when they meet us. And I appreciate what you said at the end as well. It gave me something to think about. - CW
This is poetry. I love every word of this. And I will keep them in my heart. I also lived in Arizona. Tempe and then Flagstaff before I moved to the Iberian Peninsula. I love Tubac! What a special place!!
Thank you so much. I’m so touched by your words. And how wonderful that you know Tubac too. It really is such a special place. Some places stay with us long after we’ve left them, don’t they? - CW
Too often we let the troubles of the day keep us from finding our joy and releasing (as my wife would say) our inner child, yet it is in difficult times that we need our joy and that child the most.
Beautifully said, Rick. I think that’s very true — in difficult times especially, we need those small moments that bring us back to joy, lightness, and that part of ourselves we too easily set aside. Thank you for commenting. - CW
Carol, that line about “somewhere farther away than we actually traveled” is the whole thing. Most people chase distance, but what they’re really after is that shift in texture, the slight change in how a place holds you. You described that without overworking it, which is rare.
What stayed with me is how grounded this is in a specific life moment. Not abstract nostalgia, not polished reflection, but that quiet need for something steady when everything around you feels unstable. Those small, repeatable escapes that don’t look like much from the outside but end up carrying more weight than the big trips.
I’ve felt a version of that on the road as well. You can cross countries and feel nothing, and then a random small place just locks in. Not because of what’s there, but because of when you arrive.
You clearly have a strong instinct for noticing those moments and putting them into words without flattening them. That’s the kind of writing people don’t just read once.
If the rest of your pieces go this deep and this specific, you shouldn’t keep them half-open. This is the kind of work people will pay to stay close to.
Thank you, Mats. This is such a thoughtful reading, and I’m grateful for it. You caught exactly what I was trying to hold onto in the piece — that certain places matter not only because of where they are, but because of when they meet us. And I appreciate what you said at the end as well. It gave me something to think about. - CW
What a nice memory...and lesson. Thanks for sharing it, Carol.
Thanks for your comment, Mike. It’s funny how some of the smallest moments end up staying with us for years. - CW
What a quietly inspiring story. Thank you, Carol.
Thank you, my friend. “Quietly inspiring” is such a lovely way to put it and exactly what I hoped this little story might be. - CW
This is poetry. I love every word of this. And I will keep them in my heart. I also lived in Arizona. Tempe and then Flagstaff before I moved to the Iberian Peninsula. I love Tubac! What a special place!!
Thank you so much. I’m so touched by your words. And how wonderful that you know Tubac too. It really is such a special place. Some places stay with us long after we’ve left them, don’t they? - CW
"I have had a sign up for years..."We dance in this kitchen".. (and I do!)...❤️
Thanks for your comment, Trisha. That makes me smile. I think you may be ahead of the rest of us. ❤️ - CW
Lovely! Sometimes it’s about the simple joys and those moments make life rich and fill our hearts.
Thank you for your comment, Barb. I think so too. It’s often the smallest moments that stay with us the longest. - CW
Beautiful.
Thanks, Maria. - CW