The Hardest Hue to Hold

The title of this post belongs to Frost. Have you ever read his poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay?

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower,

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf,

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day

Nothing gold can stay.

I have an obsession with Robert Frost.

Each time Paul and I are in a used book store, I always look for Frost's work. I don't own a single one of his books. Yes, I know I could hop on Amazon and be reading one of his books the very same day, but I don't want to ruin this decade long quest. I want to hold an original print in my hands and turn well-worn pages. I want to be hearkened back to a time where I can sit with Frost on his sun-bleached farm porch, and together, examine, through verse, the meaning of life.

I also have an obsession with sunrises and sunsets; this obsession is much older than that of the one with Robert Frost. I have had it...well, ever since I can remember.

Each day, we are blessed with these fleeting moments of something miraculous and I am convinced my obsession with them has a lot to do with my regenerative optimism.

I find it impossible to not be inspired by nature, a characteristic I am grateful for as let me tell you, things...have...been...difficult. When I feel overwhelmed, I head to The Shire and reflect on how she has changed from summer to fall, fall to winter, and now, winter to spring. I am like her, ever changing, and yet, in strange ways, also predictable. Or perhaps, reliable is a better word. Ever changing, yet reliable.

As we get our vehicle stuck, for the half dozen time, in our dirt road full of hazardous water runoff cracks, and we haul up the hill by hoof and hand our essentials, I remind myself of the nature of a leap. You see, when one leaps, there is this period of falling before landing at your intended destination. Well, my friends, we leapt into this life dream of starting a farm animal sanctuary, and now, we are in the fall.

I'm typing this post surrounded by moving boxes, some stacked so high, I cannot see beyond them. I willingly leap into a wondrous new season, confident that Paul and I will experience the day where we will look back and ask ourselves, "How did we ever manage it all?" Knowing my heart and soul, I will respond with we never let go of hope, faith, resilience, and our dream. We stayed true to the dream and mission.