My greatest joy

My greatest joy is coming home again. Home isn't perfect. When I'm here, sometimes, the first things I see are what's undone. The garden needs pruning. The paper needs sorting. The floors, somehow, are always slightly dirty.

And yet, it's a joy to be in a familiar place. Here, someone else makes the first cup of coffee. Light pours through the unadorned windows. There's plenty of food, and I get to choose it. The order and disorder are of my own making.

I don't have to worry so much, when I'm at home. There is so much joy in the simplicity of here and now. When the timer rings, I'll have to think about what's next. But right now, my greatest joy is to be. in a place where one thing at a time is truly possible.

My greatest joy is coming home to a place where there is an exchange of care. I don't have to hold everything. Not the list, not the conversation, not the laundry. My greatest joy is this shared life. __