Tom Ryan, Author

Tom Ryan, Author

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Tom Ryan, Author
Tom Ryan, Author
A Stressful Friday

A Stressful Friday

Lessons on the road to seventy

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Tom Ryan
Oct 03, 2022
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Tom Ryan, Author
Tom Ryan, Author
A Stressful Friday
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Good morning from a delightfully chilly New Hampshire. The temperatures dropped below freezing overnight, which meant that while the bedroom window was left open, there was an extra quilt on the bed while the three of us slept together wrapped in a cozy Gordian knot.

We rose quickly, feet chilled on the kitchen’s wooden floor, and Samwise and Emily ventured out into the backyard for a refreshing sniff and for their constitutionals. Inside, I was at the stove making chai tea and an apple-blueberry oatmeal topped with a tablespoon each of ground flax seeds and Grape Nuts cereal, a mixture of warming spices, and a kiss of maple syrup.

These are the days we love best. We wake to the cold and watch the temperatures climb into the sixties under a hopeful sun while trees reveal their true selves and revel in all of it.

This year’s foliage is not what we are used to due to this summer’s drought. (I’ve noticed the leaves are crispier.) Still, they remain a dream, and it feels like walking throug…

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