These are my potatoes, here in Georgia. I’m doing a final harvest before I leave for Ireland again, for my WWOOF farm #12 (with the added bonus of traveling with my daughters first). I’ll be going left at Customs this time. The agent will say, “Failte abhaile.” Welcome home. I will have my duck, my bike helmet, and my black and white composition book, just like last time. There will, for sure, be more potatoes.

But for the first time in three years of WWOOFing, I won’t be working on a book (or two). Except for this blog post and a few school papers (I just finished my first college course in 40 years), I haven’t written at all this entire year. Considering that writing has been the air I breathe my whole life, it’s been an oddly interesting experience.

I am trying to silence one language as I’m learning another. I’m wearing this t-shirt, which says I am learning Irish, to encourage folks to talk with me in a language where saying the most rudimentary things is still hard, even after two years of study. But I am not afraid to try, because, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the edge of our comfort is where the stories get good—and the most important thing in Irish conversation seems to be having a story to tell! “Aon scéal?” (any story?) is the common greeting.

Thanks, again, for joining me. If you’ve enjoyed my books, please consider leaving reviews and recommending them to others. I’m loving the support I’ve been getting, but I love even more being able to encourage others on their journeys as well. Hope to see you out there!

Trust the journey — Pattie