Wherever she is, Maria seems to find animals and animals seem to find her. She got up the other morning, opened the curtains and there was a  monkey with her baby sitting comfortably out on the railing. Today is Maria’s last day in India, her quite remarkable journey is nearing an end. Tomorrow morning, she begins a grueling three day journey, several long flights, several different countries.

She should land in America sometime Sunday morning, our time, Monday in India time. She will, I imagine, be exhausted, both emotionally and physically. I am thinking she will need rest and some space to readjust, I’ve gotten her favorite foods, ordered some flowers.

I imagine she will need to digest this trip, it was intense every minute in a number ways, and wonderful in many others. I think it was a coming of age for her, I think it will be transformative.

My Creative Fellowship did not turn out as planned. Too many surprises, storms, computer crashes, distractions, chores and Maria’s trip was much in my head. I didn’t quite grasp how distracting that would be. It is not so easy to write well when a big chunk of your soul is suddenly gone.

At the same time, I suspect she will be very happy to come home – to the donkeys, the farm, and also, to me. We belong together, I have certainly learned that in the past two weeks.

She will be working this trip out for a long time, I think it will show up in her work and in her life, this, in a sense, is her calling, fusing her art and using it for doing good, especially for women. The women in India got right to her heart, they have not seen the last of each other. She made some powerful friendships with some amazing women. You are one of them, I said on the phone. She seemed startled.

This will open a lot of doors for her, in her mind, in her art.

I witnessed first hand how hard she had to work to get to India, how many obstacles to overcome, most all of them now, how many fears she had to work through and set aside, how much she had to learn. She was not a world traveler,  has mostly and until recently stayed within her comfort zone. That has just greatly expanded.

Maria  saw some awful and wrenching things and explored the limits of compassion and of what it is possible to do in a world with so much suffering. She made some lifelong connections and this work in India will now, I think, be a permanent part of her life.

If anything, I feel closer to her than ever before, and have even more respect and admiration for her. I know well what it took to get from there to here, and it is just the beginning of this transformation for her. From beginning to end, this was not an easy journey. She did so well. She is just getting started. Sometimes, I have learned, late starts are the best starts.

Even in India, we always found a way to talk, through texts, photos, phone calls. Just got the AT&T bill. Love is not cheap. She got me a present and I can’t wait to see what it is. She is bringing  back lots of fabrics and I can’t wait to see those either. What a treat to see how all of this begins showing up in her work.

I told her she has been living a big and exciting life these last two weeks and is returning to a small farm in a small town. It will take some adjusting. Several people in town have asked her if she will consider giving a talk about her trip. I hope she does.

Tomorrow, I’ll take the salmon filets out of the freezer and thaw them out. I’m make sure the house is neat. I feel like one of the Captain’s wives in Nantucket, peering out over the ocean to see their husbands return from the sea. If feels like my heart is coming home.

This time, she won’t be traveling in a blizzard.