I woke to the sound of a dog barking outside. It wasn't a coyote. I stirred from my sleepy state enough to recognize my surroundings. Ah, I was home. It feels strange to be here. Normally it feels good to get "home," but this time I'm ready to go back. I'm not sure what was different this year than past years. 

Yesterday I wandered our house aimlessly, unsure of any routine or what I was doing. It was all off. I didn't sit with my morning cup of coffee watching the sun light up the side of Bull Mountain. I didn't start a fire in the wood stove to take the chill off. No stellar jays squawking and asking for their morning feeding. No walk to the bottom with the girls. 

No. Instead we had the television tuned to Good Morning America. I was appalled at the amount of depressing, unnecessary news they spew out. Rapes, murders, accidents and lots of other horrible things that don't have any bearing on my daily life. Sure, some news you need to hear, but we really don't need the level of detail they report. I've decided it's not part of my morning anymore. I lived just fine without it for three weeks and I felt all the better for it. 

The trees have really changed here, and a few are even done so we have a lot of leaves on the ground already. When we left it was still summer, but we came home to fall. It's chilly and gray and we had to turn the heat on for the first time. It's hard to believe we were swimming right before we left.

I'm sure all the old rhythms of life will soon find their way back into our routines and life will go on as before.

Nice to have you back even if you’re not as glad to be here.  Sounds like maybe retirement is sooner in the offing as previously thought!??

Thanks, C!

It always takes a little while to settle in after a trip, doesn’t it? It does for me.

Bravo for your decision to avoid morning TV news. I do not turn on the TV in the mornings at all—in fact, I normally only watch TV for a couple of hours with Dave in the evenings. (And even THAT is too much for me.) I prefer getting my news from a good newspaper (online), where it tends to be more thoughtful and I can control what I decide to take in!

Glad you’re home safely!

Maybe because you left for Colorado so soon after Alex’s passing, you are still getting used to your NJ home without him there to direct your days, as dogs will do… Give yourself time.

Thank you for the beautiful pic of the different leaves