Following Edge

After a tiresome day flying, we got into Portland just before midnight on Saturday. We spent the night at Judith and Chris's house. Their beautiful home, the nice city neighborhood, a nice meal, and great company made the overnight stop the best part of our trip, ironically. I will admit that our visit with Nolan in Princeton on Tuesday had all the same great features and comes in a close second, since it was just a brief visit.

Now we're back at home and I have an extra helping of the mail and laundry I love so much. Thanks to expert care by my mother and Amy, the farm survived without us for two weeks, except that, sadly, Hazel was captured by raccoons and died.

I've been asked if I'll be returning to Philadelphia when Anne Marie has to return for a week in January. I've decided not to think about it for at least a month. I truely believe that this trip will benefit from perspective, seeming better (or less bad, at least) over time.

I am really, really worn out and feel like I can't imagine how I can return to work tomorrow to face the huge back-load of work and the extremely urgent things that are waiting for me. In fact, it feels like I need a vacation.