A summer refresher

I learned over the weekend that our neighbor passed away after a lengthy chronic illness. He was a wonderful man. He was a generous. He was gracious. He was kind and patient with our kids. He chased a family of raccoons out of my garage once. He could fix anything. He could find a patch of morel mushrooms as if he had an internal radar. He will be missed. He was 58. He was too young.

Ab and I also cleaned out her closet over the weekend. I always dread a big project like that but find it cathartic once I get started. Once you get done cleaning out a closet you are grateful because you usually find things like your favorite black turtleneck or the gray hoodie that is silky soft from having been washed 1,000 times. You're willing to commit to keeping things in order - for a while, anyway. You're also better focused on what you have and what you need.

I thought about my neighbor a lot while Ab and I worked on her closet. I found that getting back into the habit of writing wasn't something that could wait until I had "more time." I'm willing to keep that commitment - for a while anyway. And I regained some perspective on what I have and what I really need.

So I freshened up this space a little bit and hope to see you here more often. Thanks for reading.