where the cat used to sit

When the autumn days are dewy and misty what better things are there to do then to jump on the road? Plenty, but that's not why I'm here. On a gloomy, soggy Sunday morning one of my dear sisters and I hopped in the ol' forester and headed East. We had our minds and hearts set on the sea. You see, some time ago we lived in a small cozy house some blocks from the water. There we lived amongst the bustle and frenzy of the summer vacationers, trying our best to enjoy the simple things in life. Even though we love our homes and the places we abide now we were itching from some quiet beach town time and say hello to some old friends. So it seemed fitting we visited on a misty afternoon in the middle of October when the place could be ours.

The day was misty and grey with a steady wind across the island. We laughed and cried as we reminisced looking out over the ocean. It was all so much the same, and yet it was all so different. To drive past the place you once called home and not go in. To look at its facade and wonder if it is still the same inside. To be there and look up to where the cat used to sit on the shingles and know because it is no longer there neither are you. It is no longer your home, only a place you once called home. So many memories, both beautiful and painful. This was a place I found joy and friendship as well as a place I learned contentment in being my own best friend. It was where we had family vacations and celebrated birthdays and countless New Years. So many sunburns and spaghetti dinners after long days playing in the ocean. All of the bear foot weeks with salty hair, and the dazzling lighting storms rolling out to sea.

This place, so precious and dear to our hearts is no longer home but will always hold a little peace of our hearts.

I encourage you, on a wet and gloomy day to do something unexpected. To venture out to somewhere special. There is a beauty in the solitude of the misty skies that can bring a comfort and clarity to a place so tender.