That’s the origin story of this Away We Go collection.

It has forced me to notice. It has guided me to turn over the small moments in my hands because each week I have to find something to write about.

Along the way, this particular one will say shhhh. It will say, quiet now. Listen.

We can take the long way.

Care about me, remember all the wonderful things, but don't keep thinking you should have done anything differently. Did she imagine him saying that to her? Or did she have the strength to see as the path to survival?

These words fall back to earth like the snowflakes that made this place what it is. There they sit, indistinguishable from others. On my descent maybe I'll rearrange them into a different pile. Maybe someone else will pick one up and use it for their own. Maybe the sum of all the conversations is sitting there below the lift line. It will melt and return to the earth. Those words will re-absorb into the soil and make a soft landing or a creche for windblown seeds.