drinking it in

My Farm boss FlavaFlav and I have often found ourselves talking about "examining the Farm with fresh eyes,"--this is usually a conversation that happens around holidays or board meeting weekends, when tons of non-Farmers are around. The sentiment was repeated again this week as we have begun to cook our big Thanksgiving meal, as we begin to look around us again and look for the flaws, seeking out that fresh perspective.

And this is what leaving is for me, this half-existence of looking at things with a fresh perspective, not of a stranger, but rather, as a person soon to be estranged. To vacate the house and pack everything up means finding the holes in the wall where the pictures hung; seeing the uneven-ness of the paint job in certain corners; noticing how dingy things look when the room is alight with afternoon sunshine. But more importantly, it also means noticing the sharp contrast of the night sky and it's milky stars; being amazed by a cliched-ly perfect Indian summer day; allowing yourself to be mesmerized by the smell of wood stoves and furnaces.

The past few days have meant lots of meandering, sitting still, trying to drink in all this beauty and somehow burn it into my memory, make it accessible for later when I am tired of city life.

I am excited for my new adventure, but sad to leave the beauty of the Farm behind me...guess I will have to find my little slice of beauty somewhere in OhCity, OH.