Split Down The Middle

"One night I walk the beach. It's late and the waves are lapping quietly at the sand, like a cat drinking milk. It is clear and the stars are out, but this is Virginia Beach, so they must compete with the city's lights. High-rises stand silhouetted against the unnatural glow, and I walk with my head turned toward the grayness of the ocean.

This same ocean laps against the beaches of Virginia and Senegal. That seems impossible to me and makes me wonder if there is some place out there in the middle of the Atlantic where waves decide to go to the east or to the west, split down the middle as though parted with a comb. There is no such place, I tell myself, but I cannot stop picturing it. I like the idea of a place in the middle of the ocean where east-going waves split from west-going waves, and I feel if there is anywhere left in the world where I truly belong, it is at that spot."

Susan Lowerre, Under the Neem Tree

A friend in Richmond who served in Uganda with WHM years ago put together a list of quotes from books and songs about going, leaving, re-entry, now, and questions. This quote in particular stuck with me. I am thankful for friends who have walked this path ahead of me.