– Louise Dickinson Rich, We Took to the Woods (1942)
I have to admit that I was happy to see 2019 come to a quick and unceremonious end. The only thing I can say about the year past is that it passed by as quickly as it did (it seems years get shorter the older one gets). The Michigan outdoor writer Jerry Dennis noted in a recent blog posting that he felt the same way about 2019. A family tragedy and lesser misfortunes “turned the year into an extended brush fire. My writing work got pushed aside, but I learned some new tricks with extinguishers and garden hoses.” That pretty much captures my own situation in a nutshell.
I awoke January 1, 2019 with a bad hacking cough which quickly involved into a bad case of the flu which laid me low for over a week, and it took another week or so to greet the new day with some degree of normalcy. When I finally felt well enough to venture outside the Nation’s Capital was blankets with over a foot of snow which forced us to delay our departure for Florida to visit family and friends. I tried to get some good writing done while we were in Gainesville, but there were just too many other things to do that very little of substance was accomplished during the month we were there. We took a long way home, spending time in Georgia before continuing to Ohio to visit my family.
After several weeks away from home we were glad to be heading back in late February. Unfortunately our car engine blew outside of Washington, Pennsylvania and we had to leave it behind for major repairs and continued home in a rental car. We slowly settled back into our home routine until I had to return to Pennsylvania in mid-March to retrieve our car with its rebuilt engine. At the same time there were family passings in New Jersey and Michigan.
My wife returned to Florida in mid-April for a short visit, but more car troubles and family health issues there and it was another month before she returned home to Maryland. I kept the home fires burning and managed to get some good work done during my days of solitude. We finally settled into our spring routine at home and at the end of May we escaped to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for a long ,relaxing holiday weekend at the end of May and I delivered a paper at the annual gathering of the Thomas Wolfe Society. A wonderful opportunity to visit with old friends and colleagues.
We returned to the lake cottage for our annual summer hiatus in mid-June and through the beginning of October. Several friends paid visits with us and we always enjoy sharing our little piece of heaven. We stuck pretty close to “home” although we spent out annual week on Monhegan Island where we were also lucky to share with friends from back home. There were also brief sojourns in New Hampshire, Vermont and the Eastern Townships of Québec. All was an ideal setting to work on my novel-in-progress, as well as some other enjoyable writing projects. Finally the year felt like it was returning to a normal pace.
Unfortunately, the time is always to short and it was time to return home to Maryland and the routine demands on our time and attention. Still I felt like I was return refreshed with my sights on autumn and the approaching holiday season which would be upon us soon enough. We took a leisure route home through southern New Hampshire, and Vermont, enjoying the gorgeous autumn colors and a pleasant evening in Bennington, Vermont.
On our final day on the road after fourteen weeks away from home we received a call while driving through upstate New York that my wife’s mother had suffered a mild stroke in Florida. So, instead of returning home as planned, we set our sights on Gainesville instead. We spent one brief overnight at home, unload the car an repacking in for Florida not knowing exactly how long we would be there. Hopefully for no more than a couple weeks. The next morning we set off early on the 800 mile trip down Interstate 95 to Florida, arriving in Gainesville much later that evening.
It quickly became apparent that SallyAnn would be required to stay longer than first expected, and so I decided to return to Maryland two days later in the hopes that she would be able to join me there in mid-November, and certainly by Thanksgiving. Our goal was rebuilding home fires for the holidays. Instead the brushfire that was 2019 continued to burn with no end in sight.
October became November and November became December. SallyAnn in Florida and me in Maryland. I tried to use my time at home to get back to some sort of routine and to use the quiet time to do some serious writing. I was moderately successful, but used much of this time to work through a growing queue of books I have been want or needing to read. So all was not loss although it got lonely at time. Thanksgiving came and went without notice. Thankfully friends and neighbors watched out for me, inviting me to share meals and good fellowship. And there was Morgan, my black lab brother of a different mother whose love is always unconditional.
Finally, as Christmas was approaching, I decided to return to Florida to rejoin SallyAnn in Gainesville on December 20; this time in the hope that she would have her mother settled and she would be able to return home with me after the holidays. We had not seen each other in almost three months and the separation was weighing heavily on both of us. It would be nice to be together for the holidays although they would pass by virtually unnoticed. It was not until early January, when our son Ian and his house mates traveled to Florida for a brief vacation, that we felt like a family again. Certainly something to celebrate, if only briefly. SallyAnn and I remained in Florida together for seven more weeks before things were settled enough there that would finally make our way home in early February.
Shortly after I return home we were both set upon by nasty bouts with the flu and a deep funk that continues to this day. The basement is still filled with unpacking our summer hiatus in Maine. The is so much to catch up with and it’s hard to know where to start. I have hardly settled in and I’m already planning to set out fro Ohio next week to spend time with my own family. And shortly after my return home we will be preparing to return to Florida for a short visit. So 2020 is indeed shaping up to be another brushfire year. I pay heed to Ms. Dickinson’s caveat. “Aside from forest fire, there's nothing to be afraid of in the woods, except yourself. If you've got sense, you can keep out of trouble. If you haven't got sense, you'll get into trouble, here or anywhere else.” I’m counting on some common sense as I face the new year.
Finally, to quote Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, “Enough of this complaining and groaning and ape-like chatter.” There is work to be done.
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