BAGGAGE

Apprentice Man sat his last GCSE exam today and now has a summer’s freedom before returning to school in September. Sometimes the attraction of closing a door as we step through can be the enticement of liberty at the other side. On most occasions, however, our responsibilities follow us across the threshold and into the big blue yonder. Indeed rarely do we encounter a situation where we travel, no matter what distance, without some baggage about us. It’s different when you are still in your teens; July and August seem like an eternity to be filled with whatever you choose and there’s no need to act hostage to responsibility, guilt, sorrow or whatever emotions could fill that rucksack on your back. No wonder that in later years the innocence of childhood and adventures of adolescence hold certain nostalgia as we struggle with the weight of life’s experiences and all it throws at us.