Sitting on the back porch of the house I rented last summer, when I had to get out of town, drinking a glass red wine and listening to the crickets singing in harmony in the back yard, I feel so . . . content. I work so hard throughout the year and, finally, I am able to reward myself with a few days of solitude at Sewanee on Monteagle Mountain.
I will never know why, but it just feels like home. It's where I feel most myself, where I belong, somehow. I feel that, deeply.
"No Hard Feelings" (Avett Brothers) is playing on my cell. The song of all songs that reminds me so much of my mother. When the Avett Brothers played it at Bonnaroo on a Friday night in 2019, I stood in the crowd and cried, thinking of my her and the battle she was losing with Alzheimer's. I miss her so much, even now.
As always, I needed this trip to the Mountain. JP is still in Tasmania, so I was hoping Joe would be her with me while Jude worked at home, in Nashville. As it turns out, Joe has a research class in the mornings at MBA for the next couple of weeks, so I am flying solo. I love the solitude, so I am fine by myself for a few days. Because I spend so much time talking with clients and giving them advice in what are often very stressful situations, it is important for me to be able to get away, my myself, and just . . . be.
This house on Florida Avenue, near the football field, is perfect for me. The owners need to put a little more money into it, I think, but it works. They need to add a garbage disposal, more dishes and bowls, a cutting board, etc. Just a little more attention to detail if they really want to keep it rented on a regular basis, or so it seems to me. Still, it fits me nicely.
My plan is to run early tomorrow morning, then get coffee at Stirling's, one of my favorite coffee houses anywhere. I would love to avoid work completely but that's probably not possible. Doug and Madison can handle things for me at the office, I know, but I will check in with them at some point. Mostly, I just want to run, hike, and read, in no particular order. I want to unwind if only for a few days.
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