I reckon my feet know where they want me to go … walkin’ on a country road.

~James Taylor

The smell of this Sunday’s stroll brought me back to childhood.

I lived two weeks a summer visiting family in northern New Hampshire, skinning my knees, chasing after fireflies, and plucking wildflowers from fields filled with long grasses and a whole bunch of bees.

I could smell all those memories yesterday afternoon walking on a country road.

We kept company with goats and turkeys, and we’re newly nodding acquaintances with an old Mack truck backed up into the woods.

Country roads are like that.

You never know who or what you’ll meet along the way.

Nothing fancy out there, probably, but the breathing’s easier and life feels just that much simpler.

It’s like finding a little bit of freedom.

Because when you’re walkin’ on a country road, the distance may be long – but the pace is slow.

And the burdens don’t feel quite so heavy.