RETURN FROM VACATION

It has always been a memory, oft repeated, that to get ready to go on vacation was tiring, but to return is even more so.  My body had been bruised and battered from inactivity followed by long hours of driving, then a tumble I took (while stiff from a 350 mile drive), stepping backward into a ditch between two concrete driveways.  This gesture was formerly called 'a** over tea kettle).  Waiting for me was a six inch stack of 'white' mail and what seemed like endless pile of stuff to be sorted through, most of which will be filed in the circular file while I am left wondering how many innocent trees were cut down for all that.  I suspect it lowered the number of leaf peepers in Vermont this year.

It is a good feeling to realize that I was missed by neighbors (with whom I rarely speak). However, this is New England and, while people have little to do directly with one another, the neighbors are there if you need them.  My car, actually, was what was missed since they rarely see me!  Nevertheless, the many phone calls received and placed took up almost a whole morning.

Unpacking is always more of a chore than packing.  I suppose that is because packing clean clothes smells fresh and like a new beginning.  Taking out clothes that have been soaked with perspiration and then stuffed into a closed bag is not like coming back to roses and rest.  There is some fun in finding things I thought were lost because I threw them into bags and then forgot where I put them and never found them during the trip.  One such item was my spare pair of prescription glasses.  The thought of replacing that costly set of frames had me wobbling for a minute or two.  They were at the bottom of a bag with soft stuff atop, never allowing me to see or feel them.  I also had a phone call asking me when I needed my keys back.  These were the ones that you point and press...as costly as their weight in gold when you have to have them replaced by the dealer.  They were the keys I was told had been returned and I was somewhat surprised that I had no recollection of that fact.   It was pleasant to learn that IK had not forgotten what I was never given back, after all.

Until I turned on the Cable News (I thought I was in Heaven not to have to watch Fox News) I was crushed to observe that there are still as many ignorant people out there as there were two weeks ago.  Imagine that!?
I promise this will be the last blog on vacations. I plan to become a card carrying sentient being tomorrow after a good night's sleep.  Tomorrow is another day at home!