Skip to main content

The Leaving

It's beginning to feel a lot like Florida summer.  The humid heat hits full on as I step out the door, the comfort of my air conditioned home lulling me into forgetting that a late morning bike ride might not be the best way to exercise now.

A friend told me yesterday that she had heard the weather for Burlington, VT. Temperatures in the fifties were expected. I know that that means people were pouring outside in shorts and tees to glory in the spring breezes.  I will carry my sweater on the plane when I head back next Tuesday.

I am in the process of saying good-bye to friends and neighbors here--InStride volunteers, poetry group members, people from the yoga classes I have been taking, and people I have met from church.  My next door neighbor, Gayle, left this morning.  As I ride my bike around I see more and more places closed up.  Seems like every day for the last two weeks are taken up with saying good-bye, stay well, see you next season.

I have made my list--all the little details of closing up the house.  I don't have too much to pack.  Florida clothes don't necessarily translate to VT summers, but what I do have to take is important.  I have already had a dream about arriving at the airport without having printed out my flight information.

In the mean time, my calendar is already filling with VT activities.  Soon I will be saying hello once again to family and friends in the north.

As it says on those tee shirts--life is good.

Comments

  1. Leaving is often difficult in so many ways, but the memories remain along with the anticipation of the future. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Even as you hate to leave your Florida life I know you're looking forward to seeing your family in Vermont.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You have such a full life in both your homes and it must be so nice to get away from the weather at both ends of spectrum. Safe travels!

    ReplyDelete
  4. We had a weekend place when I was younger. I remember how much I looked forward to going there and forward again, to returning home. Hope you have an easy return to the cool fresh air of Vermont.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You have made a home for yourself in both halves of your life. Having suffered the sudden loss of your spouse, you have taken charge of your life and made it full and active and meaningful. You are remarkable!
    Safe travels.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My brain is not very organized and I would make a mess of switching homes. You are a pro at it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Having the two homes sure makes the trip a lot easier. A lot less to lug back and forth.
    Nice way to look at those goodbyes. They will soon be replaced with "hellos."

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's nice to have two homes to live in -- one up north, the other down south.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Is it really that time of year... ALREADY? Where does the time go? I'll meet you in Vermont (blogwise). Have a safe and happy trip back.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Have a good trip to the other home. It will probably be a bit weird going back to your new place.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You're about three weeks behind me. I could have written exactly the same thing! I am finally beginning to feel back in Washington State after nearly five months in Arizona. Safe travels.

    ReplyDelete
  12. We've had a lovely few days of sunshing!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I appreciate readers' comments so much. You don't even always have to agree with me.

Popular posts from this blog

It's TIme

 It's been a while since I have posted anything and even my reading your posts is falling by the wayside. I am in Florida now. I have a yard where little attention was spent on landscaping for the past years so I am slowly and (somewhat) methodically addressing that. I also volunteer to work at the pollinator garden and the edible garden I helped install at the UU grounds and I took over the volunteer job of cleaning out the overgrown community garden by my neighborhood mailboxes. The neighbor who was doing that got sick and could no longer attend to it. It's a bigger job than I'd thought at first -- not only overgrown with weeds, but the plants that are wanted there are in life and death competition for each others' spaces. And two walks a day, morning and evening, so Levi can keep up with addiction to canine social media and a daily rousing came of stick or ball midday take up another chunk of my time. I have a weekly meditation group that I co-facilitate, and my own ...

Walking

 I have always been a walker. Now that I have a high energy dog there is no excuse for not getting out there. And the weather is not an interfering factor here. Early morning and early evening are our preferred times so even when it gets hot we should be okay. We can get quite a long walk going around the neighborhood, greeting neighbors out working in their yards or walking their own dogs. But the landscape changes quickly just beyond the confines of the housing developments. It could be described as natural Florida or as sites of future housing developments. I do prefer the first option. And I really enjoy being out in natural areas so I often opt to head to a nature setting. I would have liked to put a picture here. Unfortunately my iPhone has made a unilateral decision. It will no longer be sending my photos to my computer. Why? I have no idea. However, we may be walking along happily enough -- me listening to the birds or trying to identify wildflowers and other plants while L...

Wedding

 Don and I drove to South Carolina to attend the wedding of my step-grandson, Will. Will Will and Katie The wedding took place on Dataw Island, a beautiful outdoor ceremony followed by a reception in the country club. We stayed in a tiny cottage in the historic center of Beaufort, rented from Vrbo. Since the wedding was at 5 p.m., we had time to explore the area a bit. I really like the low country scenery and historical charm. Sitting quietly in the curtained gazebo I was visited by multiple cardinals. They came to visit the feeder, not me, but I can always pretend! How I will always remember Will!