Fly Away

Herself dropped Offspring the First off to catch her flight back to college this afternoon.  The airport was quiet and relatively empty; the halls echoed, full of possibilities. Herself daydreams about Going Places and Seeing New Things.  Someday.

Off she goes, lovely Offspring the First, back to her own humble life in her own tiny abode. Godspeed, and good luck. You are loved, and we are thinking of you.

Like a Turtle Wading Through Peanut Butter

My apologies, gentle readers - the blog is off to a very slow start for this 2015.

Herself is a bit bogged down in post-holiday catch-up and General Stuff.  She's also been contemplating some un-bloggable topics: on the one hand, she's doing some Big Thinking about in what direction to take her career, coupled simultaneously with the concerns about What Others Expect and What Is Best For The Family (and how those two juxtapose against What She Might Like); and on the other hand, she's still swimming in the shallows of the Sea of Sorrow, contemplating all the changes and losses big and small of the past months and year.

It's a tricky place to be.

More than anything, she wants someone to just hold her for a few minutes, pat her hair, and tell her it'll all work out, not to worry.

Not to worry, fretful child of my heart.  It will all be OK.  I am here.

Stay

As the elder Offspring gear up to go back to college, and as we continue to be aware of Cherished Friend's absence from our ordinary lives, we listen to today's earworm:  I wish you'd stay, by Brad Paisley.

It's not quite accurate -- it's not that we wish for them to stay; we just wish that their leaving wasn't so hard on the heart.

Then again:

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. ― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Sheltered, Again

I felt it shelter to speak to you. ~ Emily Dickinson

Sheltered

I am a writer who came of a sheltered life. A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within. -- Eudora Welty

Picture copyright 2014, 2015, Mediocria Firma. Used with gratitude

Cold and Damp

In the cold and damp weather, elderly three-toothed small dog is disinclined to move.  He looks uncomfortable in some kind of indeterminate way. Could it be arthritis, perhaps?  We got out the heating pad and tucked him beneath it.  Oh, he looked so very happy. After half an hour, he perked up considerably and was happy to eat dinner and take a brief stroll around the house to check on each of the people.  Then he went back to the heating pad.

I'm glad we found something to help.  Good boy, Tio.

New Year's Fire

My wish for you in this new year, is to feel the warmth of the fire. 

To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life. ― Pablo Neruda

Photo taken at Three Rivers. We shall go back there someday.