I Have Miles to Go

I Have Miles to Go
Before I Sleep

Six decades ago, I stood in front of Mrs. Davis early one morning and recited Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. While I don’t recall what I thought about this poem, I still remember much of it.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

I recently wrote to Moh Moh about our dream of having my family come to America. They have applied for our State Department’s Diversity Visa program. The State Department will notify those who win the lottery sometime in the next couple of months. If my family wins, they will get visas to come to America. Having I have added a caveat to coming to America. They will come to Crown Point, IN, and live with me.

There isn’t much they can do now but wait to find out whether the family gets their Diversity Visas. However, Ti Ti is in the process of applying for a visa to attend college this fall. However, I am confident that the entire family will get their visas.

I have told Ginger that my family will be staying with us soon. I have mentioned my granddaughter’s names often enough that she recognizes the names. Ginger senses that something especially important is about to happen.

Every morning, Ginger and I walk around the lake on which we live. When we get up in the morning, I say to Ginger, “Do you want to go for a walk around the lake?” That question absolutely makes her day. However, having Ti Ti, Snow, and Fatty circumnavigate the lake with her would be sheer paradise for Ginger. Watch this video. Obviously, hearing their names and walking around the lake is exhilarating for her. Ginger attempts to verbalize how she feels.

While my family sits anxiously waiting, I feel like Frost. In my twilight years, I finally grasp what Frost felt while stopping in the woods. I have much to do before their arrival.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

We Are Family