It’s raining this morning. I woke pretty early, built a fire in the fireplace, set the water to boil and made coffee. Now I am sitting in my living room, listening to the fire crackle and wheeze, and drinking a hot cup of coffee laced with cinnamon. It’s a grey day here. We’re in the middle of a Nor’easter, which is a type of storm where the winds and the rain come from the Northeast, as opposed to the West which is where they normally come from. It’s a swirling storm that brings high tides, high winds and lots of rain as the storm picks up moisture from the ocean. And there’s one coming right behind it. Looks like we’re in for some cold, wet weather ahead.
Last weekend was picture-perfect fall weather. During the day it was 72°, and at night it got down to 41°. The skies were clear. The humidity was low. It was beautiful. Jane and I, along with my best friend Bob and his wife Donna, had decided weeks before to go camping. We certainly picked the right weekend.
Jane, Jessica, Donna, and the dogs on a hike in the Bellplain Forest.
We bring coolers with food and beverages, portable stoves and lanterns, sleeping bags and firewood. Bob usually brings his canoe and the younger kid bring bikes. In addition to the four of us, my sister-in-law Bernadette came with her two girls (10 and 12) and they each brought a friend. And last but not least, Bob and Donna brought their grandson, who turns one year old October 30. His name is Landon, but everybody calls him the Doodlebug. He’s cute and very easy to be with. At night, some of the older kids would stop by, mostly because no one was at home and we were where the food was. :)

Bob and the Doodlebug.
We take hikes, paddle around the lake in the canoe, play horseshoes and card games. Mostly, though, we sit around the campfire and talk about the next meal. Many other people probably eat lighter when they are camping. Not us. We go from one meal to the next. It’s what the girls (our wives) do to keep busy.
It’s such a different feel from our normal lives and it holds with it a nostalgia of simpler times when we were younger, when our kids were younger. Other than meals, there is really nothing to do, so schedules to keep, no chores to do.
You just are. You’re camping and that is all. And that is enough.
The Shortening of Days
The days are getting shorter, which is always a bit depressing for me. During the winter, I often wake in the shadows and arrive home well after dark. I live underneath the glow of artificial light and long for the sun. But we become what my wife calls “house cats”, inside people during that time. Hunkering down for a long, winter’s nap.
When my kids were young, it was back to school, early nights, homework, bathtime and stories before bed. Now they’re pretty much grown so there’s not a big difference around the house. They come and go and we tend to eat alone.
This has been a big adjustment for my wife and has not figured what to do with her time now that she’s not caring for three kid and cooking for an entire family. Now, most of the time, it’s just she and I eating. Often times in front of the television.

A Day Of Rest
For several years now, Bob and I get together on Sunday mornings. We call it church. In the warmer months we surf. In the winter we cut wood. It’s a nice time away from the responsibilities of work and family. We talk, drink a few beers, and do whatever it is we’re doing. Sometimes we don’t even talk.
We’re still surfing now but it’s getting a little cold. Soon I will cease to want to go surfing. Bob has been trying to get me to buy a winter wetsuit—a heavier wetsuit with a hood, gloves and boots. It allows you to be surfing in weather barely above freezing. You really have to be a committed surfer and I’m not sure I’m that committed.
So in the cold months, Bob and I head to the woods. We bring the dogs, a few beers, our chainsaws and our trucks and we go back in time.
A Room of My Own.
Bob is actually upstairs as I write this painting. When my daughter got married she moved out of our home of course, and now I’m taking over her old bedroom to use as my office. Bob is a professional painter, so he’s painting the room.
I’m actually really looking forward to having an office again. We have a small office downstairs near where my wife does laundry but it was more or less taken over by the kids years ago. This will be my own room. I’ve bought a desk, actually it’s really just a large dining table, and I’m going to put in industrial looking wire shelves to hold my photography equipment. Large, deep shelves that can hold large cases. I will decorate with large framed prints of my favorite black and white photos. I will have my computer, music and a comfortable chair. It will be my man cave.
Tomorrow the surfing may be good and we’ve talked of going out in the morning. But today is just cold and wet and I’m happy to sit in front of the fire, reading and writing and more or less letting the day run through my fingers.
On The Road Again
I travel again this coming week to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is near Miami. We have a presentation to an existing client. Then I’m home (at the office everyday) for a week, then in the first week of November, I travel to Moscow, Russia for a week.
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