"I long ago lost a hound, a bay horse and a turtledove, and am still on their trail. Many are the travelers I have spoken concerning them, describing their tracks, and what calls they answered to. I have met one or two who have heard the hound, and the tramp of the horse, and even seen the dove disappear behind a cloud; and they seemed as anxious to recover them as if they had lost them themselves."
-Thoreau

I lost something this weekend. In the middle of good company, well worn and wearing a mood of happy return, I arrived in Austria after several days in romantic Budapest. We parted ways too quickly, moving in opposite directions, and without the drama of train station goodbyes. While there are still distances of the literal and figurative to consider--nothing so precious as a turtledove was lost--I'm nearing an understanding of what he meant, if not yet what he felt.

The best parts of me think that we will meet again.