Clare lives in Suffolk, England.
“Gallivanta*” lives in New Zealand. (*Her nom de plume.)
They are travelers — Gallivanta to visit parents in another country, Clare to take a precious daughter to school each day and to visit her aging mother and mother-in-law.
In three months, Clare recently told us, she drove 11-thousand miles. From the same post, we learn why it’s been worth it.
Clare calmly shares her daily life with a lack of self-pity, a deep sense of gratitude and a simple grace.
Whether she writes about the trees, wild flowers or small creatures in her fields or her family or church activities, Clare’s blog reflects qualities many of us yearn for: faith, hope, perseverance, love and kindness to others – in the midst of daily and extraordinary challenges.
I wonder if Clare knows how brave she is.
Above photos from: A Suffolk Lane
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Gallivanta, too, is a mother, wife and the daughter of parents who are elderly and ailing. Anyone who has been in the latter role knows it’s tough. The emotional roller-coaster. Deciding to drop everything and go, never mind the cost and upheaval of unplanned travel.
Gallivanta’s big heart and brain are expressed in her blog regularly. She’s a beautiful writer, wise beyond words, often drawing out the meaningful and the sacred in the mundane.
My physical world has become smaller these days, and Gallivanta’s blog challenges my mind with new perspectives.
Above photos from Gallivanta’s blog
As does Clare’s. I may never take long walks through the English countryside and villages, but Clare’s photos and stories take me there.
They and other bloggers are the pen-pals of my middle years, expanding my narrowed life when I spend a few moments in their company.
No small thing, that.
So I send you these flowers, ladies, from last year’s spring garden.
I’d send you my floral arrangements but … er … I like you too much to do that.
Cynthia Reyes 