A relationsip is not a bulwark against loneliness.
We may soon find, despite our most cherished hopes to the contrary, that rather than dispell our sense of being adrift, a generous home also houses our solitude.
On days when we are down on our knees, desperate to be rid of our longings, we may lay the bundle of our unbearable loneliness at the feet of our loved one, and find it back in our arms by nightfall.
One day, it finally dawns on us, that loneliness has its place at the table. It’s the guest who came in when the storms blew the door open, and now it has settled in for good.
And so we become more practiced hosts, and we make room for it, and the household grows to accomodate its needs.
A guest who enters this home through the front door senses something familiar, and knows she is welcome here.