Oceanside

Herself speaks.

Three solid days of driving later, Cherished Friend has reached his new Oceanside environs. I am glad he has arrived there safely. It must have been quite the drive. I wonder how the terrain changed -- was it slowly, or was it sudden, like a Time Zone change? I try to imagine. He sent a photo from the road, and I try to picture standing near the landmark. What was it like?

I look at the weather report for his Oceanside, and work at forming a picture in my head. Is there an ocean breeze? What is the humidity like? What are the trees like? Are there squirrels? Will there be alligators, or manatees? What are the bugs like? Are there snakes? What is the sunset over the ocean like?

I have been here in the desert for so long - well over two decades - that I can no longer imagine what it would be like to live in another place. And a good many of my most desert-y memories of the past ten years or so have included Cherished Friend, as we explored various places, from Caverns to Craters to Big Bend to high desert forests; and some of my favorite moments have been around campfires at which Cherished Friend, Beloved Husband, and I sat in a rare moment of peace in this busy world. I am sorrowful that we did not have more time to explore more of this desert land before Cherished Friend parted for points Oceanic; can I find consolation in the thought of future moments elsewhere?

Beloved Husband has reassured me that we will go see Cherished Friend in his new Oceanside land. That will take time. Cherished Friend needs space and time to establish himself in his new environs, and we don't want to interfere with that; and the need to work and to be safe while the Pandemic continues and the world attempts to adjust, will take precedence for quite a while. Nevertheless, perhaps eventually I will be able to imagine Oceanside, and will be able to look forward to exploring it as well.

I hope for the very best.

Just a waypoint between this desert land and Oceanside.