The Seemliness of Seeming

It's been a while since I've typed anything into wordpad for the purpose of posting to this blog.

Almost two months.

I've pulled several blog entries off the web to put into my last book, so there probably were some that are no longer here. No matter. Even if it hasn't been a long time, it SEEMS like it to me.

My last book, Echoes from the Antechamber, was a work to get out. Overall, though, I'm fairly satisfied with it. There are probably a few places it could be upgraded, but it achieves much of what I was attempting to achieve.

I feel sort of like I'm done with writing. Maybe I just need a break. Ten books in the last five years - I don't have any benchmark with which to measure that, but it seems like a fair amount of work.

We traveled to North Carolina a couple weeks ago for the first time in two years. Actually, we started in Georgia the first week and ended in North Carolina the second week. My wife suggested we start in NC and then go to Georgia, but I really wanted to save NC for last. There are traditions involved, and I know they are fading away now that my in-laws have been deceased since 2008-2009. They seem important to me, however, to observe for a while longer.

We've never, in the last 23 years, returned home from Georgia. It's always been North Carolina.

Georgia is where my wife's two sisters and their families live. Wonderful people, it's always a pleasure to spend time with them. But the craziness that is known as the Atlanta highway system is no place to relax, and we spent a fair amount of time on it shuttling between the two locations.

North Carolina is more laid back.

Given the stresses I face at work, I saw our NC visit as the place to kick off the shoes and move a bit more slowly.

Had we spent two weeks there, like we used to, it probably would have worked. Unfortunately, we were there only about six days. Those days were spent doing much doing. We were doing. Going places, seeing people, seeing places, doing stuff. It was all good. Good to see people we don't see often. Good to reconnect with family and friends growing elderly.

Many are gone now, but there are still some left.

It doesn't seem the same since my in-laws passed away. I guess that's not such a profound statement. And though I still like that area, it isn't as clear to me now that I should be looking for property there. My mind tells me the old adage, "you can never go home again" over and over. A little nut deep inside keeps a fire of interest lit, though. to where I have to wonder what full-time residency would mean, practically speaking. I once asked my wife if we should just consider Rutherford County as a sort of shrine to be kept in fond memory perpetuity. You know that once you move to a place, it becomes common, even boring after a while.

That's sort of how I view Maine. Even in all its downeast beauty, it has become common, boring. Of course, the hardships of life will color one's perceptions of where they reside. The only problem is hardships exist everywhere.

So, this recent trip to North Carolina did nothing to settle any questions I've had.

When we returned home, it was as if we hadn't gone anywhere.

And, if I didn't have the videos and few pictures I took while there, it would probably all seem like nothing more than a dream.

In a way, I still wonder if it might have been.