I drove through Sterling today on my way into Moosup, to take a look at my old house. It has recently been renovated and put back on the market, and according to the “Sale Pending” sign out by the street has found a new owner. The place looks good, and since there was clearly no one living there quite yet I drove into the driveway and took a look around. I couldn’t really tell if Jazzy recognized the place at all, though she was sniffing around the yard where she lived from when she was a little puppy until she was five years old or so. I may have missed any signs of recognition, as I was a bit distracted by my own remembrance of good times. It really is a beautiful area, and I loved living there. But then again, I’ve loved all my residences since then too. Cranston was a very special place for a lot of reasons, and being near the ocean in Westerly was perfect for me to slowly find a new path after falling so fast. Now I’m here in Cumberland and it feels like a mix of those places, and instantly comfortable. I’m still near water, though now it’s a river instead of an ocean. I’m near the woods like I was in Sterling, and there’s a lot of space for Jazzy, yet I’m still near everything like I was in Cranston. I really don’t know where I’ll go from here when the time comes. My life isn’t even close to being predictable enough to even guess such a thing. But wherever it is, I’m sure it will be a beautiful place. I’m far too spoiled now to settle for anything less.

P.S. By the way, I took this picture of the tree I planted back in 2000. It’s now one of the tallest trees in the neighborhood despite being less than a decade old. It’s a hybrid poplar I bought from a little catalog and planted when it was just a stick with one leaf at the top and a few spindly roots.