How Do You Slow This Thing Down?

So John and Steph packed up, drove off to her Mom's in Walnut Creek, and will be flying back to Seattle tomorrow. We had a nice backyard send-off for them last night, with a blazing fire fueled by Christmas trees that John expertly chopped up with a new axe Teri had bought for the occasion. I realized it had been a while since we'd had a fire. Months.

I drank too much and I'm pretty sure I delivered a meandering and maudlin monologue to a couple of my longtime friends and neighbors about the pitiless speed of our passing lives and the losses we all endure. But I don't think I cried, and they didn't appear alarmed, so I must have made at least some sense. Here's hoping.

Then I slept, a long dark dreamless sleep, till nearly 10 AM. Which is the latest I've slept in at least ten years.

Later I sat in the warm sun, reading, drinking a lot of water, listening to the birds, watching my cats sleep, feeling tired and achy but somewhat contented. For no particular reason. Or should I say, I chose not to question it.