days of ups and downs

Writing this thing again came up with the basic thing. What belongs where. This blog has been a personal reflection for me. Some things have worked. I’ve felt good about them. Others have not. Like today we went to the river. To a favored spot for coffee and breakfast. I felt morose. Sad. Introspective. My wife reads it. She lets me be. Until she leaves with her friend Amae. Then she tells me to just accept it all. She kisses me goodbye. Tells me she loves me. Off she goes.

I sit by the river and watch others go by. Khmer people smile and nod. I tell them hello in Khmer. Expats studiously avoid eye contact and gather in batches. I don’t belong in either world. It’s easy to accept really but my wife nurtures a somewhat hidden desire for me to have friends. The whole thing crosses over from journal to blog. Because life does too. From morning to night.

night in Siem reap

The bridges always seem parts of me. How to get from here to there. From moments exceedingly personal to writing the blog. I love what bridges signify.

da nang dragon bridge

Each one takes me. From here to there. From ups and downs. Today is a bridge. I work on crossing back to the up part. Not there yet. So I write. Here and there.

Take from it what you will. I’ll head home soon from this Starbucks moment. Will ride across a small bridge. Go to a house I would rather not. To a little family I’m glad for.

See you across my bridge. Perhaps yours too.