The Wintry Comforts of New England; the Tug of the Open Road

With some help from Henry David Thoreau

"In winter, we lead a more inward life. Our hearts are warm and cheery, like cottages under drifts, whose windows and doors are half concealed, but from whose chimneys the smoke cheerfully ascends." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Our home feels dreamy in this quiet and still time of the year. The last Christmas cards will be handed over to Keith and Mike at our little country post office by Monday. I am almost sad to see them go.

Sitting at my desk in the pre-dawn hours or after our last walk of the day, when night has fallen by 4 in the afternoon, there is peace, a sense of love, and the glow of nostalgia as my blue pen skitters across the paper. Old Christmas carols carry me home to early childhood, back when the entire world consisted of feeling the false security of being the youngest in a household of eleven. Oh, that innocence!

Tea is a forever friend this December. Has there ever been a more companionable sound of hearth and home than a tea kettle’s whistling? These are the moments I am …