The light is noticeably fading. By 7:30, I snap on a light or two to chase the dusky shadows. It is lighter outside, but the evenings of dining on the back deck with the birds are declining. Transitions are all around me. Tomorrow, my sister Zanne will arrive. We lived together for 6 months when I began this blog and I have written of our annual visits. Our relationship is one of tenuous threads and the chains of DNA that no one else shares. This means once again this summer, Alice’s and my routine will shift to include someone else. From Julia’s extended stay as a fun roommate, then Hanni and B.’s month of crazy, lovely dogdom, and Doppelganger’s brief visit, I seem to go to extremes of social interaction to total self-imposed isolation. On the other end of this week, we will leave for five days of solitude and disconnect.
Transitions abound.
As the world heads back to school and routines, the faces at the store are changing. Regulars back from summer travels replace the tourists. We’ve added two new faces to the family and it is so rewarding to see fellow workers fall in love with the simplicity of really wanting to be at work. I will single one out because our paths crossed before, in the corporate world. Annie was always the first person to greet me as I schlepped my way into the building. Over the years we shared joys, triumphs and disappointments. I clearly remember dragging a suitcase through the lobby, exhaustion from days on the road a heavy cloak around my shoulders; being comforted and welcomed home by her.
Some folks pop up repeatedly in life and you just know they are going to “stick.” It’s the transitions that bring them back into focus. The trick, as I see it, is to recognize what else those transitions reveal…
Therapeutic Misadventures 
You are right about the transitions. We live in a summer tourist destination, and the faces are getting back to normal – and i almost need to turn on the light in the kitchen each morning now. Long jeans comfortably on for the first time in months…but as soon as the rain ends, it’ll be back to scorching.
Stretch out and relish this all now.
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Thanks Phil. Counting down the days, or should I be counting Up?? Love the transitions and the changes they bring in the wardrobe department.
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Unfortunately, we will soon be in the time of dark breakfasts and dark dinners. Trading tank tops for sweaters. Always in transition. Enjoy your visit with Zanne and relish and recharge in you 5 days of disconnect!
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Thanks Laura, recharge indeed! Those first days of crisp sweater weather are wonderful but they lose their thrill by midwinter.
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This is all so true. I am so happy to be part of your world again. I love my new job and all the people I am working with. Thank you for asking me to join the people there. This is such a refreshing change from the old life in corporate. We actually smile all the time. I have learned to transition a lot in the past few years and each time has been better that the time before. I hope now I am where I will stay for a long time. Thank you!
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Thanks Annie. It is so good to work with you again…transitions are good!
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Ah. Truth.
Beautifully and thoughtfully written. I, too, swing between the hustle & bustle of being just so busy socially to being content for days with never leaving the house.
Happy Fall, Martha. I love this time of year!
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Happy Fall right back at you Julie! Here’s to the season of crisp: apples, air and leaves.
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Another example of the natural world teaching us how to live.
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Agreed Susan. Slowing down and listening to what nature is telling us!!
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There is a peace about Autumn that I love out of all the seasons.
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So true, Cheryl. It is a season of closure for me and finishing up things before the frenzy of the holidays and the dark days of deep winter.
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Enjoy your 5 days of solitude!
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Thank you Allen. Looking forward to using all the knowledge I have gained from your posts to look closely at the world around me.
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You bring me into your moments and back to my childhood, causing me to crave the change of seasons again. I live in Florida. All we have here is summer and a snowless winter. I especially loved your last paragraph regarding transitions. I need slow transitions . . . I am not fond of change, although transitions often take us out of our comfort zone and into magical places we would have missed if not for changes. Lovely post. Thank you!
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You are kind, Nancy. I see we share many views through our writing. Enjoying discovering yours…
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I have a friend like that. We see each other infrequently but it’s always good when we do. She came round tonight and we talked for hours. Some friends are worth keeping.
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Thank you Marie, friends who pop up in different chapters of our live are the ones worth keeping! So many people through the years I thought would be around forever and somehow we drifted too far apart for more than a quick social media “hello!”
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There is always so much to enjoy within your journaling entries, Martha, as I’m heavily tugged toward your lifestyle–likely because it echos so much of my own.
I hope the journey toward darker days will be filled with snug warmth. This has always been one of my favorite transitions–moving into hobbit mode.
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Humbled by your comment Shelley. Thank you.
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