Musings of an Almost Octogenarian

Back in So. Cal.

After spending a little more than two months in the Midwest with Sophy, I have returned for the remainder of the summer to my "other home" in Southern California, where my own house is, and where the other members of my family still reside, as well as friends of many years. I arrived home late one night, and after unpacking, checking email and phone messages, etc., etc., the next morning I repacked and came down to Laguna to spend a week with granddaughters, grand-dog and -cat, and grand-garden, while my other daughter spends a few days in Oregon. So far, I haven't done much that is productive - just mostly basking in the fresh ocean air, reading, and relaxing.

It's always an abrupt change when I return here. Gone are the vast fields of summer green - corn and soy beans - and huge, full green trees everywhere - and the proximity of everything I need to drive to - five minutes, or at the most, maybe ten. Instead, the vast asphalt and concrete freeways, always full of cars, hurrying to wherever they are going - housing developments, industrial complexes, amusement parks - and having to remember to leave at least thirty-sixty minutes ahead of time to get anywhere I need to go. ( I am fascinated at how quickly I readjust - just as though I had never left.) At present, the weather is beautiful, lots of flowers are in bloom, I can see the ocean from the front windows of the house, and gas is a bit lower than when I left in April.

When I return home next week, it will be back to the job of cleaning/sorting closets and garage, after nearly fifty years of living in the same space. (It's hight time!) For a genetic pack-rat, that is quite a project - though not without its pleasures, as I relive nearly-forgotten parts of our lives while going through the remnants of those long-ago days.

So much for my first blog. Brevity has never been a strong suit of mine - as you may be noticing!