It’s a quiet morning.

The sun is still low, casting long shadows across the grass, and the air carries that soft, earthy smell you only get before the day has fully woken.

I push the garden gate open and it greets me in its usual way — with that familiar creak. A little song that’s been part of my mornings for years.

It’s just a gate.

Wood, hinges, a latch. It keeps the dog in, the postman out, and lets the breeze wander through. But over the years, I’ve realised it’s more than a practical thing.

A gate is a threshold.

It’s the line between “in here” and “out there.” The space where a neighbour might pause for a chat, where a friend arrives, where a delivery driver hands over a parcel and a smile. It’s the point you stop and think — do I open it, do I leave it closed, or do I simply lean on it for a moment and watch the world go by?

I’ve had other gates in my life.

The one that comes most vividly to mind stood at my uncle’s allotment. It was nothing fancy — a simple wooden affair with a latch that never quite caught unless you lifted it just so. Beyond it lay rows of beans, carrots, and neat ridges of soil, each one lovingly tended. I spent hours down there with him and my dad, the three of us working side by side, pausing to sip tea from mismatched mugs, talking about nothing and everything. That gate marked the start of a world that smelled of earth and green things, where time moved to the rhythm of seasons rather than clocks.

Those allotment days are woven into the story of who I am — if you’ve read a bit about my journey on our About page, you’ll know how much those moments shaped me.

And of course, there are the gates you can’t see.

The moments in life that feel like they’re daring you to step forward — a new friendship, a fresh start, a decision you’ve been avoiding. Some gates swing open easily; others you have to lean on with all your weight. But each one changes you a little.

So yes, a gate is just a gate.

Until you notice it’s also a welcome, a pause, a choice, and sometimes, a story waiting on the other side.

What about you?

What gate in your life — real or imagined — has led you somewhere unexpected? I’d love to hear your story.