Being at home

Our return home from Kanuga last Saturday has not been an simple transition. I told Tal, once the responsibilities of Guest Period #1 were over, what I'd really like to do was sit on the porch of the lodge overlooking the lake and rock and read for a time. That desire, while not fulfilled to the letter, was on my mind during our drive home and I realized -- at least to some degree -- that I didn't have to stay at Kanuga to sit and rock and that, indeed, I didn't even actually have to sit and rock in order to get what I wanted. Just thinking about sitting and rocking should provide some of the hoped-for benefit, shouldn't it?

Good thing that realization came before we arrived home. For any expectations we had about what we would do once there unraveled as the answering machine delivered its messages. A cousin of Tal's had died. The laundry and the lawn would have to wait. We drove to Columbia for a visitation at the funeral home Saturday afternoon and again following church on Sunday for the funeral and burial. Worship on Sunday morning and the sermon went well; it was a wonderful home-coming, in fact, our having been away for three Sundays.

But, given the second trip to Columbia Sunday afternoon, I went to a lunch meeting on Monday totally unprepared. The worst part? I was to supply the lunch! The promised meal came from a lovely Piggly Wiggly along the route I drove -- and it was good. So, I didn't HAVE to make the sandwiches myself and we didn't have to have matching plates and napkins. Go figure!

Somewhere in there both dogs ended up with fleas, requiring some extra-ordinary measures to begin to control the potential infestation, both on them and in the house and garage. Then, today I learned that my father is in the hospital, so I'm away from home again staying with my mother for a few days.

None of these things were anticipated as we departed Kanuga ... and I'm not raving. Blessedly, all I've had to do in the midst of these unfolding events to find a place of calm is close my eyes and feel myself rock. So far, though, I've not been able to make myself feel the cool mountain air that goes with that mountain porch!