Entry for 21 December 2006 (Toledo):
Light rain, almost smirr but without the wind to blow it into our faces; new moon at the winter solstice, reaching the maximum point of the Dark, 7:22pm tonight. From this moment, the sun begins its journey north again, and the light prepares to return, at first imperceptibly, then more rapidly as spring approaches.
Streets full of Christmas shopping traffic this afternoon, almost as bad a Glasgow congestion. Waiting to cross Monroe Street after going to the Barnes & Noble about 5 tonight, I had a vision of Great Western Road in Glasgow, busy with traffic.
Tired and spaced out from shopping, we throw together a dinner of leftovers and salad, then in a somewhat desultory fashion, with many distractions and some disorganization, begin packing for California, in preparation for our departure early tomorrow morning. Finally, a bit ago, Kenneth presents Diane with a belated birthday present: a hand-cranked nut-grinder, which pleases her greatly, a gift worthy of carrying back to Scotland with us.
We are not quite ready for Christmas, but we are getting there and I think will be ready for it when it arrives. Although we are not particularly wise people, we have travelled afar from out of the East, and will travel further west yet, until we arrive at the place where we began: Northern California and family. Diane and I grew to maturity there, and I lived the first half of my life there. So it is always good to return to our ur-home, the home of our homes: California: Toledo: Scotland. We carry all of these homes in our heads and hearts, homing toward them, as the year reaches its darkest point and begins to turn to the light again.
No comments:
Post a Comment