It was as if the most spectacular parts of the first hour of sunrise were compressed into a handful of seconds. It was the kind of light where all details are lost.

Today, it slips through three layers of linear clouds. Playing peekaboo. In the last few moments, I am suddenly aware of just how fast the earth is actually rotating. My feet feel unsteadiness where never before. Suddenly the planet, this thing on which I have spent every moment of my life, is not as solid as it once was. I am moving and the sun is still. My equilibrium is off. I’m falling and it’s gentle but unfamiliar.

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.