Nature’s Way

Yesterday, Al and I had a quiet adventure. We went into the world and explored our surroundings. We have been caught up in too much work, too little time together, and a couple of other things pulling at the fabric of who we are together. Just because we’ve been married for 29 years doesn’t mean we don’t have to work on our relationship. I think sometimes you need to do that even more the longer you are together. Sometimes you take each other for granted. Sometimes you need to fall in love all over again.

One of the things we did when we were dating and then continued all through our married lives was visit a cider mill every fall. It’s a little thing, right? But if you start dropping the little things, they can turn into a big deal. I mentioned to Al that we had not done our annual cider mill visit in a few years. So what did this guy do? He not only took Friday off to support me at my beloved cousin’s memorial, but he also took Saturday off and devoted the day to us. Two days of no work for both of us is highly unusual. I’m more busy than ever and so is he, but that’s just present circumstances. We can choose to change how we operate. We can choose to slow down.

We recently moved and it really changed our world, in good ways and some not so good, for me at least. I was disoriented for awhile. I lived in my last house for over 25 years, so this new place took some getting used to, but little by little, I am making it not just a new house, but my home.

One of the best things about our move was that now we live in the country. It’s like a dream, because I love nature and here there is so much green space, so many meadows and trees and trails and tiny wild creatures. Also horses. We have both been so busy working that we have not explored much of our new environment, but death makes you stop and think about life. After a week of grieving the loss of my beloved cousin, we needed a day just for us.

And yesterday was sunny and crisp, perfect for a cider mill. We decided to take a walk, too. There’s a little town just north of us I wanted to explore. When we got there, we found a trail that goes on for miles and miles. The trees are turning and the entire path was arched with golds and reds and greens. We walked for an hour and saw maybe three people. Quiet. Secluded. Peaceful. Then we left and went to a new cider mill where the donuts were still warm and the cider was sweet and cold. About a thousand bees joined us under a tree. That’s the way it always is, and we laughed about those predictable bees.

We’re nearly at the end of harvest season, but we snagged some tomatoes and fresh bread for BLTs. I have not been cooking much, and don’t fry bacon at all anymore, but yesterday was special in an ordinary way, so yes, I made bacon! Didn’t eat any of it myself … but Al enjoyed it so much. The tomatoes are still juicy and you know what? So is life.