The best sort of guest houses and gatherings are those where it is just as easy to be alone as it is to be surrounded by loved ones. This is the ideal sort of stomping ground for an extroverted introvert who swings wildly between the worlds of wanting company and wanting solitude at a moment’s whim or whirl. While Anu, Kristen, George and the kids worked on dinner preparations, and Suzie and Cormac squeezed the last bit of light from the sky for their suddenly-dangerous shucking efforts, I found my way down to the dock just as the sun was setting.
This was the moment of calm and beauty I’d envisioned when contemplating the nine-hour car ride. My mind quieted from its oyster excitement and I settled gratefully into the silence. The light moved magically now, every minute revealing some wondrous shift of shade and shadow. Any silly concerns had dissipated earlier, and I felt my head happily clear of its clutter.
In calm and beauty, that which truly matters rises to the surface, like the little splashes of fish stealing their dinner from the space between water and air. As I sat on the edge of the dock, dangling my legs over the water like some version of the kid I never quite allowed myself to be, I thought of the people I loved, and some of those I’d lost. I realized then that all of our adult friends who were gathered there at the River House no longer had our fathers. A sad little club we all must join at some point. The beauty of our time with our fathers – however long or short – would always make up for the sadness of having to bid them goodbye.
I felt tears surprisingly swell in my eyes, but they weren’t tears of sadness or loss. They were tears of gratitude – to sit amid such beauty, to be with such dear friends, to feel so alive, to have such memories.
I didn’t want to let the light go, even as I understood that the sun waits for no man.
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!
This old house is falling down around my ears
I’m drowning in the fountain of my tears
When all my will is gone, you hold me sway
I need you at the dimming of the dayYou pull me like the moon pulls on the tide
You know just where I keep my better sideWhat days have come to keep us far apart
A broken promise or a broken heart
Now all the bonny birds have wheeled away
I need you at the dimming of the day
