The Slate Path in Congratulations, the Best is Over! – Symbolism and Analysis

What Is the Slate Path?

In R. Eric Thomas’s essay collection Congratulations, the Best is Over!, the slate path is a concrete, recurring object that appears in Chapter 14, “Hostas Negotiator.” Literally, it is a garden path made from twenty-seven large pieces of buried slate that Thomas discovers, digs up, and reassembles in the backyard of his Baltimore home. The previous owner—a single straight man—had been pressured by gay neighbors to install landscaping, including a slate path. Over time, the path sank into the mud and was forgotten. Thomas, while trying to build a garden with his husband David, stumbles upon the first piece and then systematically excavates the rest. He then constructs a stable path by digging a trench, addressing erosion with gravel and sand, and laying the slate by hand.

Where the Slate Path Recurs

The slate path appears solely in “Hostas Negotiator,” the longest essay in the collection. However, its symbolic weight echoes across the book’s themes of home and belonging, identity, and resilience. Thomas does not reference the path in later chapters, but the act of making it becomes a turning point in his understanding of what it means to build a home.

How the Meaning of the Slate Path Changes

Initially, the slate path is a minor afterthought. Thomas notices three large pieces near the hostas and imagines a simple flat surface. He expects to move them easily, but when his shovel hits a buried piece, his curiosity sparks. The discovery triggers a month-long project that grows in scale and difficulty. Each new piece requires digging, lifting, and battling physical pain. The path shifts from a small chore to an obsession—and eventually to a triumph.

At first, Thomas resents the garden. It is a space where he feels lonely, especially as David becomes absorbed in his own gardening. The path becomes a solitary pursuit, separate from David’s plans. But as Thomas completes it, his perspective changes. Standing on the finished path, he experiences a rare feeling of accomplishment—not to prove worth, but simply to add a part of himself to the space. He realizes he has been practicing mindfulness, something he associates with David’s spiritual approach to gardening. The path becomes a bridge: from frustration to pride, from isolation to connection, and from being a passive resident to an active creator of his home.

Character Connections

The slate path intimately ties to the narrator, R. Eric Thomas. It represents his physical and emotional labor, his struggle with feeling inadequate in the garden, and his eventual breakthrough. Through the path, Thomas demonstrates his persistence despite chronic pain and self-doubt.

David, Thomas’s husband, is the foil. David finds solace in gardening; for him, it is a spiritual practice that clears his mind. Thomas initially feels left behind but later comes to understand David’s process. The path is not a joint project—it is Eric’s alone—yet it allows him to see David’s world with new empathy.

The straight previous homeowner and the gay neighbors (Tony and Dan? Actually the neighbors are not named in the evidence, but the neighbors are a straight couple who tell the story). The neighbors mention a gay couple who previously owned a house on the street and “bullied” the straight man into landscaping. That bullying results in the slate path, buried and forgotten. The path indirectly carries the history of community and pressure, linking generations of inhabitants.

Theme Connections

• Home and Belonging: Building the path is an act of grounding. Thomas transforms an inherited mess into a functional feature. It is not just a garden accessory; it is a route from the gate to the back door—a literal threshold. The path says, “This is my home, and I am making it mine.”

• Identity and Self-Discovery: Thomas does not consider himself a handyman. He jokes that he cannot dig a grave without an asthma attack. Yet he manages to engineer a drainage system and hoist seventy-five-pound rocks. The path reveals capabilities he never knew he had. It becomes a physical metaphor for finding agency in middle age.

• Grief and Loss: While the slate path itself does not directly connect to grief, the chapter sits within a book that explores loss, including the death of grandparents and the emotional toll of the pandemic. The labor of the path can be read as a coping mechanism—a way to build something concrete when so much feels uncertain.

• Community and Friendship: The path originates from a social transaction: the gay neighbors’ bullying. It links past and present residents. When Thomas stands on the path, he steps into a lineage of homeowners and neighbors. Later, in other essays, he reflects on the importance of community, but here the path is a quiet testament to the unseen connections between people.

• Hope and Resilience: The repeated act of digging, failing, adjusting, and finishing the path embodies resilience. Thomas does not give up even when his body protests. The final line of the path—holding his weight—is a small but potent symbol of hope: the best may not be over, but something good can be built from the ground up.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Thomas decide to build the slate path, and what does it reveal about his character?

   Thomas initially sees the path as a simple, low-effort project. He is not a gardener and feels inadequate compared to David. The path becomes a challenge he takes on alone. It reveals his stubbornness, his need to contribute to the home, and his capacity to learn through trial and error. The project teaches him that making something—even imperfectly—is valuable.

2. How does the slate path change Thomas’s relationship with David?

   Before the path, Thomas feels distant from David, who gardens peacefully while Thomas struggles. The path becomes Thomas’s own contribution. Once finished, he stands on it and sees David planning a pond. He finally understands David’s description of gardening as a spiritual practice. The path does not bring them into the same activity, but it allows Thomas to respect and connect with David’s separate process.

3. In what way does the slate path symbolize mindfulness?

   Thomas initially dismisses mindfulness as a buzzword, but after completing the path, he exclaims, “Oh God, was this mindfulness?!” He realizes that the months of focused labor—digging, leveling, placing stones—forced him to be present. He was not thinking about the past or future; he was only concerned with drainage and weight. The path becomes a tangible lesson in being fully engaged in the moment.

4. What does the history of the path—from the straight homeowner to Thomas—tell us about community?

   The path was originally installed because gay neighbors bullied the straight owner. This backstory, shared by the current neighbors, reveals how relationships, peer pressure, and a desire for beauty can shape a yard. Thomas, by excavating and reusing the slate, honors that history while making the path his own. It highlights how homes are layered with the stories of those who came before, and how community can persist even through indirect contact.