Winds of Change

The sea comes in from the southwest, ocean direction. Yesterday's warm, 50 knot winds from that direction built up a surprising sea. During the night an eqally powerful cold front arrived from the northwest, a clockwise shift of 135 degrees. The driving rain has been replaced by clear and cold. Each has its disadvantages. Warm and rainy is preferable in our unheated house in December, while the sun warms the spirit, if not the body. We have been here long enough this fall, weeks longer than my most optimistic expectation. Yet we do not want to leave, even now when our rented place in Providence is now available and paid for. We just do not want to go there, yet. So tonight, we will extend our stay in our own home here by one more night. The fields are all shades of brown and red, with ochres and a few traces of yellow. The lawns are still, surprisingly, quite green. The moon is nearly full and its light illuminates the living room where we've been sleeping on our separate c0uches in our down-filled sleeping bags. We have burned through an entire cord of wood, though it was not, truth be known, the best sort of hardwood one might want to have. The house is ready to be closed. The plumber may be here tomorrow, or maybe not. He has a mind of his own. And so we will move on, to the next chapter in our increasingly peripatetic lives. We will look forward to the changes, not fear them. It is undeniable, however, that I sense some sadness in our moving and have questions about the great unknown. We cannot hesitate; we cannot turn aside and brood. Newness comes with Providence where there is so much to see and learn. And we can look ahead to coming back next spring.