Hellos, Goodbyes, Churches, Cigars

It's been an interesting week for friendships, indeed.

As I mentioned in my last post, my good friend Natalie packed up and moved off to California this weekend.  I'd known about the move for months but the actual goodbye was even harder than I'd planned for.  When it was time to leave I just found myself hugging her and crying, not really knowing what to say or able to put into words how much she helped me get through this summer.  It's hard to meet someone you connect with only to turn around and say goodbye.

All that said, I wish her the best in California, as she's working in a winery and seriously that's pretty fucking cool.

The sweet to that bitter is that my friend Amie from Maine arrived on Saturday and will be staying with Robbie and I for the next month at least.  The timing couldn't be better, what with Natalie's departure and the fact that we aren't even halfway through this fucking fire roll and I haven't talked to my husband in six fucking days.  She's been doing a great job--whether it is intentional or not--of keeping me busy and out of my own head. On Sunday we frolicked downtown checking out the local church action and, of course, hitting up the Coyote Cantina before it closes for the winter.

I might be a bit of a strange atheist for saying this, but I love churches as well as church services, assuming of course that they aren't talking about striking down gays or putting them on an island or telling me that as a woman my body is a wrapped gift meant only for my husband.  I think that even if you aren't religious, as I am not, taking a moment out of your day to think about how fucking amazing it is that you are here (whether by design or by SCIENCE or a combination of the two) and that we are all having this shared experience called life can be awesome and, dare I say, spiritual. For me personally, Catholic churches hold a particular significance for me since my grandparents, who were a huge part of my life and still are though they have passed, found so much comfort in Catholicism in life and in death. The first church pictured below has a private chapel for praying and I've honestly considered going to just slow down, think and appreciate.

Also, I went to go walk Cypress the other day and my landlords invited me over to have a high-end cigar with them and a friend who's staying with them that buys things like high-end cigars.  I've never smoked a cigar, but it was surprisingly pleasant as far as inhaling shit into your lungs goes (yes, cigar smokers, it took me a bit to realize that you aren't supposed to inhale cigar smoke).  They invited me just after their dog attacked Cypress (and Cypress won) so I figured why not, you know?

Anyway, that's what has been occupying the vast and frenetic space inside my head for the last few days.  I'm so glad that fall has come and that soon my Robbie will be back where he belongs: surgically attached to my hip bone.  True love, amiright?!

A Week in the Homeland

You guys are pretty fabulous for sticking with me though I've been so markedly absent.  In fact, my follower count has gone up, how does that make sense? My insecure self assumed that was a message that you guys like when I post less and therefore follow more, ha.

Rob's been gone since 6/23 and honestly, I know I say this every time, but it feels like it's been fucking forever.  Even Rob agrees with that assessment.  I think part of it was that the first fire he was on was in a nasty bit of terrain and the boys weren't allowed to be on their phones at all.  The other part of it was that this was his 3rd 14-day roll in like, three months and we are so fucking over it.

Anyway as I alluded to in my last post, I flew to the Northeast on the 29th for some family time.  I arrived in Boston, hooked up with my sister Megan and made the long drive downeast (stopping in New Hampshire to have lunch with my ma, of course).  I won't bore you with the details of every single day; I'll just say that it was filled with a lot of work (I was on intermittent calls for 8 hours on Monday and Tuesday), boat rides at night, swimming, booze, fireworks, family, and amazing food made by my dad.

My one regret of the visit was that I wasn't all that present, which I'm sure was relatively obvious to anyone who was paying attention.  Being home without Rob reminded me of when he was in the military, when I had to answer questions about where he was and what he was doing and whether he liked it or not.  The emerald green of the trees and the deep blue of the lake/ocean just aren't home without him. It just hurt being alone again, I guess.  Plus I was terrified that they'd come home early and I'd miss him, which happily has turned out not to be the case.  If all goes well I should see him on Sunday night or Monday at the latest. He'd tell you that this was a pretty overdramatic assessment of being without him, but he was in the middle of the desert and it's my blog so shut up Rob in my head.

Here are various photos from Megan's apartment in Boston, dad's house on the lake, Rob's parents' house on the coast, and everything in between.  Hopefully it gives you a good idea of Maine and particularly the area of Maine that Rob and I are from. I apologize that they are iPhone photos - my camera's sensor is dirty and I'll be damned if I find the time to go get it cleaned.