A weekend at Anu and Cormac’s River House is worthy of a recap all its own, and here is the collection of posts that brought me back to Virginia in a most beautiful and emotionally profound manner. It’s reassuring to realize that at age 50, our adventures are only beginning. With an eye toward my own retirement in the dim but discernible distance, travel becomes a long-loved goal again – and while I’m in no way saying I have another tour in me, I’m in no way saying I absolutely do not.

Here’s how our wonderful weekend in Virginia unfolded:

Part 1: Driving South with Suzie

Part 2: A Loveliness By the River

Part 3: November Sweeps in Virginia

Part 4: Shuck Off, Mutha-Shuckers!

Part 5: A Solitary Sunset Elicits Happy Tears

Part 6: Magic Moons & Shooting Stars

Part 7: Friendship By Firelight

Part 8: The Long (Very Long) Ride Home

While the sun waits for no man, and the moon seems even more fickle, the odds of catching a shooting star are astronomically stacked against our favor. Still, the weekend in Virginia had already proven itself more naturally wondrous than any other in recent of distant memory. The loveliness of ladybugs in the main house, the pair of bald eagles that Suzie and I watched from the dock earlier in the day, and the perfectly sunny and warm atmosphere of an incongruously marvelous November day halfway down the Eastern seaboard had all indicated that something magical was afoot.

Following dinner and a firepit circle of s’mores for dessert, the moon called to us from behind the trees, and Cormac and I headed down to the dock to more closely view its splendor. It hung there brightly, a few days beyond its full Beaver Moon exhibition (said earnestly and without snickers) surrounded by a firmament of stars. The evening was fomenting the atmosphere for somber and serious conversation.
We began innocuously enough, with some silly superficial talk and comical references before a shooting star or some other-worldly object entered the atmosphere and streaked boldly and brightly across an immense swath of sky. Perhaps stunned by this sharing of such a sublime glimpse, talk turned more serious as we spoke of Cormac’s Dad.

We listened to the moon and the stars, and in between the comfortable stretches of silence the occasional splash and gurgle of a fish breaking the surface of the water reminded us that we weren’t alone. Suzie joined us after a while, her footsteps crackling through the fallen leaves the only indication of her presence until she spoke.

Three friends sat in the dark shooting the shit beneath the moon. A century and a half of life between us, plus whatever living the fish had beneath their scaly belts, we could speak honestly and openly, in the way only a moonlit night might invite.

Did we solve the world’s problems?
No. Not even close. We couldn’t even solve our own.
Did we make the world a little easier to bear in our shared wonder and puzzlement?
I think we did. And look… what a little moonlight can do…

SEE ALSO:

Part 1: Driving South with Suzie

Part 2: A Loveliness By the River

Part 3: November Sweeps in Virginia

Part 4: Shuck Off, Mutha-Shuckers!

Part 5: A Solitary Sunset Elicits Happy Tears

Being raised by the daytime soap operas of NBC (‘Days of Our Lives’, ‘Another World’ and ‘Santa Barbara’) and the nighttime soaps of CBS (‘Dallas’, ‘Falcon Crest‘, and ‘Knots Landing’) I’ve rather dramatically viewed my life – and the cast of characters parading through it – as its own dramatic television series. Sometimes it’s a situation comedy, sometimes a serious drama, and sometimes a hellaciously-campy variety show – and always with an eye for an ensemble.

Most people think of me as striving to be the unequivocal star of any given moment, but the somewhat sad truth – sad for its refusal to be believed – is that I’m at my best and most comfortable when I’m part of a bigger story, and just one member of a singular group sensation. Casual observers still won’t believe that, but friends that have known me for decades will begrudgingly agree if they really think about it.

To that end, a quick glimpse into our current cast of characters for this trip to Virginia makes this one of my favorite posts in a long while. Getting together with any combination of this crew is a joy, and a happy reassurance of what really matters in this wayward world.

Our tribe has expanded exponentially over the years, as the children of my friends grow into young adults, and I’m finally able to relate and engage with them as the teenage girl I remain at heart. This was the first time I got to spend some quality time with Ruby and Luca – part of Kristen and George’s merry crew – as well as my first decent chunk of one-on-one time with Anu and Cormac’s youngest daughter Sona – and in the words of Amy Poehler’s ‘Mean Girls’ Mom, “You girls keep me young – oh I love you so much.”

The youngsters and I talked of many things (including the new Taylor Swift album) but that remains within the Circle of Trust that I’ve established with all the kids in my life, and I’m not about to break that here.

If you want the rest of the story, you’ll have to pry it out of the Connors’ dog Milo – and in my limited experience, dog lips sink no ships. More to come…

SEE ALSO:

Part 1: Driving South with Suzie

Part 2: A Loveliness By the River

Initially appearing in a cloak of darkness on the previous night, the river didn’t reveal itself to us until the next morning, when I hastened out of my private outside door and captured a few photos before joining the rest of the house. I’d been told we were all ‘sleeping in’ that morning, but as is the case with all my friends who are parents, that meant everyone except me was awake by 8 AM as I dragged my groggy ass up from the beautiful depths of a peaceful slumber. (Water of any kind – ocean, lake, sea, river – inspires sleep as much as it reinvigorates appetite. It makes all aspects of living a little keener.)

There, in the light of morning, the river wound its beauty and wonder through the edge of Anu and Cormac’s backyard. The water was one thing – the light was quite another. It would change, evolve, shift, and transform myriad times during the day – meriting multiple walks around the property and many moments of contemplation. We managed to catch it on an ideal day too – sunny and warm, with just the slightest breeze that occasionally caused a few oak leaves to drift dreamily down to us on earth.

Oaks festooned in rusty brown and gold still held onto their fall wardrobe, but had deposited a bumpy layer of acorns on the ground a while ago. Here and there a tiny oak tree rose from the lawn – out of hundreds of acorns, only one or two would sprout into trees. Who knows how such a forest ever came to be from such odds? And how strange that we don’t routinely marvel in its mature existence?

This idyllic morning was made all the more magical by a serendipitous arrival of a loveliness of ladybugs. Yes, as Ruby researched it, a group of ladybugs is indeed called a ‘loveliness‘ – and while Anu and Cormac and Sona may not have been thrilled to have such a swarm descend on their home, it was only for a day, and one of those once-in-a-lifetime events of nature that makes you feel lucky to have witnessed it. Ladybugs in the home is a sign of luck.

While they worked on coaxing them back out and preventing more from getting in, I did my daily meditation and took an indulgent nap – taking full luxurious advantage of not being the host for the first time in forever.

SEE ALSO:

Part 1: Driving South with Suzie