Success

I accompanied Herself on her pilgrimage north to the Home Office. It was a whirlwind. A single day in the office, punctuated on either side by a day's worth of travel by car, bus, plane, tramway, plane, bus, car. With the aid of that miracle substance, Dramamine, she and I were able to sleep comfortably through most of the journey, which was helpful, as the visit to the office would otherwise have been quite draining.

That day went remarkably well. It was a bit odd, as she was treated a bit like a minor celebrity: while most, if not all, of her coworkers have heard of her, many had never actually laid eyes upon her, and several stopped by to make her acquaintance. Others bestowed upon Herself a multitude of compliments on her appearance, commenting in particular on her apparent lack of aging and her svelte appearance. It was gratifying for Herself, although quite a bit alarming, as she is unaccustomed to being even remotely adjacent to the center of attention and is much more comfortable working quietly in the shadows than standing in the spotlight.

Herself had a taste of working in the office instead of at home; she managed to survive presenting to a large group of people her PowerPoint discussion of an interesting case on which she had worked, and received positive feedback for the presentation; she saw all the people with whom she has worked most, and whom she misses considerably. It was enjoyable and bittersweet.

She returned home to a family that was extremely grateful for her presence. The Offspring were quite glad for Herself to resume the preparation of food and the running of the household in the manner to which they are accustomed. Her Beloved looked quite relieved at her return; Herself confided in me later that this was the very first time that she truly realized the depth to which she is relied upon by him. Rather than being irritated by her family's inability to care for the pets and themselves adequately in her absence, instead she looks upon her family with added tenderness, because they need her and are happier with her here. She has been validated.

There was one unique aspect of this trip. Herself had wished for, hoped for, longed for, the event to transpire, and when it indeed occurred, her relief and happiness was palpable: for the very first time, she returned home from her pilgrimage without the weight of sorrow that has always accompanied her in other visits to the Home Office. Now, while she still misses her colleagues, she is not lonely. Her friends are here. There aren't adequate words to express her joy at finally feeling that she is part of a community of people here. She is blessed.

In the words of Robert Louis Stevenson:

We are all travellers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.