November

OK, so one thing I didn't miss about the northeast: worms on the sidewalk when it rains. Ugh. But they'll be hunkering down for the winter soon--we've had a couple of flurries of tiny snowflakes this week, including this morning. While the sun was shining. Kind of like Arizona, except there it's rain and sun together. Yesterday I walked to work in the rain, loving every soggy step of it (except when I was dodging drowning worms). People here keep telling us how miserable we'll be this winter since we haven't had to deal with cold and wet and snow in 10 years. But I've missed it (all but the worms on the sidewalk)--it was like being in exile for me. I learned to love the desert for its unique beauty, but I never stopped longing for the sounds and smells and feel of fall, winter, and spring in the temperate zone. Sure, I'll be miserably cold sometimes, and go crazy with endless days of dreary cloud-cover, and be just as desperate for spring as everyone else here next March--and I'll stand out in the back yard at night, waiting for the dog to do his duty, flakes of snow fluttering onto my cheeks in the wintry darkness, and inhale into my soul the deep, quiet rest of Home.