We leave for vacation on Thursday. However, my mind left about ten days ago. That’s right! I’ve been noticing my mind meandering around some of my favorite Mt. Desert haunts: the Otter Cliffs, Cadillac Mountain, the main drag of Ellsworth, popovers at Jordan Pond – after the Jordan Pond hike, and the view of Clark’s Cove outside the window of the cottage Joseph and I rent.
The agenda is an overnight in Salem, MA and an overnight in Portland ME. Then it’s on to Mt. Desert Island and Cottage#5 at Windward Cottages in Town Hill.
I always find it so very stressful getting ready to leave. It’s not just packing and closing up my office. I have this thing about cleaning the house before I leave. It’s not that I’m a clean fanatic – because, for sure, I’m not. The reason is because I want to be able to come back to my home and say, “ahhhhh.” To me, coming back to a clean home is like my house saying, “welcome back.”
I love it then, but not so much now. It only adds to the stress.
This year, as though I don’t have enough going on, I have to finish the final edits on The Five-Year Marriage™. It’s been taking a long time and I need to get them done and onto the next stage. If I don’t get it done before I leave, I’ll be sitting in Jessup Library in Bar Harbor. I love that library, but I don’t want to be working on vacation…
