a weekend respite
It felt a little deja vu-ish to be heading back to Pennsylvania this time of year; fall ripening around us, giving off those fragrant crunchy-leafed and leaves burning smells; since about this time last year I was heading to the very little town I found myself heading to this weekend. Last October TSO was moving home from WA, in time for B1 & B2's wedding--in a little, wonderful town in PA--CJ was still at the Farm, Amos was finishing college and I was a Librarian. How things change in the course of a year.
This weekend found me heading to PA to see a former Farmer, Valley Girl, who has since moved back home and works in the mental health field there. I was graciously invited by B2's wonderful parents, Mama and Papa Bear, to stay with them for the weekend. I accepted.
I arrived late Thursday night and enjoyed pie and a long chat with Mama and Papa Bear, catching them up on the Farm happenings, etc. Friday was spent in nearby Lancaster with Valley Girl. It was an afternoon of catching Valley Girl up on all the changes at the Farm since she last visited three years ago. Friday night I was back having dinner with Mama and Papa Bear, Laura & Matt and their baby E (who has joined the family since the last time I was there.) Sitting around the table talking and laughing with B2's great family was such a nice retreat from Farm life as of late, and made me just a little homesick for my own family back in MI. After Matt, Laura and E had left, Mama and Papa Bear and I enjoyed another couple of hours of conversation, in which I was surprised at how honest and frank I felt I could be. It is the mark of good people when you can feel so at home and comfortable in their presence so quickly, no? This morning Mama Bear and I enjoyed a tasty breakfast at Le Sorrel, this little restaurant tucked away in nearby Mt. Gretna (which reminds me of a place out of a childrens' story).
And then in no time I was back on the road, heading north to the Farm; leaving behind the beautiful, rolling green hills of Pennsylvania for the cooler New York state--who's trees like Massachusetts' have begun to show their fall colors-- then found myself winding through beautiful cities like Millerton, NY and then into Salisbury, Connecticut and then onto more familiar roads which have brought me home.
This weekend found me heading to PA to see a former Farmer, Valley Girl, who has since moved back home and works in the mental health field there. I was graciously invited by B2's wonderful parents, Mama and Papa Bear, to stay with them for the weekend. I accepted.
I arrived late Thursday night and enjoyed pie and a long chat with Mama and Papa Bear, catching them up on the Farm happenings, etc. Friday was spent in nearby Lancaster with Valley Girl. It was an afternoon of catching Valley Girl up on all the changes at the Farm since she last visited three years ago. Friday night I was back having dinner with Mama and Papa Bear, Laura & Matt and their baby E (who has joined the family since the last time I was there.) Sitting around the table talking and laughing with B2's great family was such a nice retreat from Farm life as of late, and made me just a little homesick for my own family back in MI. After Matt, Laura and E had left, Mama and Papa Bear and I enjoyed another couple of hours of conversation, in which I was surprised at how honest and frank I felt I could be. It is the mark of good people when you can feel so at home and comfortable in their presence so quickly, no? This morning Mama Bear and I enjoyed a tasty breakfast at Le Sorrel, this little restaurant tucked away in nearby Mt. Gretna (which reminds me of a place out of a childrens' story).
And then in no time I was back on the road, heading north to the Farm; leaving behind the beautiful, rolling green hills of Pennsylvania for the cooler New York state--who's trees like Massachusetts' have begun to show their fall colors-- then found myself winding through beautiful cities like Millerton, NY and then into Salisbury, Connecticut and then onto more familiar roads which have brought me home.
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