Easter, 2014

WAREHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, April 21, 2014

Hello All:

If you arrived at this blog site, you used the access word "interlude."  That was Happy's invention and such a good one.  The source of an interlude seems to be a brief entertainment between acts of a performance, originally medieval.  It works for us...and likely someday we'll refer to the timing of an experience as BRT or ART (Before or After our Road Trip.)

Significant is that prior to these rolling 9 months, we lived in, rented, or owned homes; now we do not; in November we will again.  We usually owned, drove, and maintained one or two cars; now we own none.  We used to have and use bureaus, closets, desks, drawers, and cupboards; now we have sparse and tiny replicas.  We certainly had, on a daily basis, feelings of roots, routines, personal and professional obligations, doctor appointments, immediate friends to see or call, calendars often full of events, meetings, and other dates.  Our homes and grounds meant attention and maintenance, even with occasional help; we had scads of monthly bills to pay (newspapers, trash collection, real estate taxes, other taxes, gas and electricity, water, cable TV, magazine and subscriptions, etc.)  We would often muse over possible trips and even their timing, or possible upcoming entertainment venues.  We created time for visiting out-of-towners, or planned dinner parties.

Now all of those are on hold until we return and settle in our Sonoma County retirement community late in this 2014 year.  Some, like taxes and utility bills, will never return as such or will be redefined or disguised.

It's funny, in our first weeks on the road, one of us would say "when we get home, we must...." and then we'd laugh and remember we didn't have a home.  All of our "home concept" was behind us, as we drove/sat in front and all our accessible belongings and needed records were rolling along behind us. A mass of belongings, many not necessary, were now in storage. Needless to add, we are living through a great and healthy and daily dose of not taking things for granted.

So, the term "interlude" is apt. We are in a brief performance between life's acts called middle age and old age. It has been and will likely continue to be extraordinarily fun and illuminating. Obviously we cast new lights on ourselves and what we are, what we like, miss, want, and really can do without.

So too we have had new opportunities to see and feel passage of time. For example, as we traversed the southwestern states of CA, AZ, NM, then southern states of TX, MS, AL, FL, GA, TN, NC, KY, and slowly rolled through middle and northeastern states, DC, MD, PA, NJ, NY, CT, and now MA, we have seen marks of history and time -- visual landscapes passing, like multiple stages of springtime... still-dormant trees in the south, now recovering from polar vortexes, then pink-tinged budding trees, then sprightly roadside daffodils, then awakening magnolias and dogwoods in western NC, VA, and PA, and now, somewhat wintery MA, but with a few daffodils.

No pictures this time, yet ahead is the beginning of many visits with family, immediate and otherwise, friends going way back (our 55th Smith and Amherst reunions in late May) and the warmer coming months. In September we travel to Turkey, without RV and dog Luke, and then in October we commence our westward return "home" to Northern California.

Please stay tuned even as you tolerate a few gaps. Warmest wishes.  Happy and Peter