Pulling over to the side of the road
I could feel the gravel of the shoulder
spitting dirt and pebbles and dust all around – 
like Pigpen from the Charlie Brown cartoons.
My eyes rolled in my skull
remembering the twenty dollars spent
washing my car 
just yesterday.
What 
a 
waste! 
Yet, I knew rest was essential – 
even if only for a few moments,
not a total detour – 
just enough to keep my eyelids from drooping
when I’m back on the road.
Sometimes the sacrifice of 
my time and my money 
is well worth 
the wellbeing of 
myself 
and 
others.

*With gratitude for the journal entry: “Keep Returning to the Road to Freedom” by Henri Nouwen in The Inner Voice of Love