Further Reasons to Love Maine
More than ever, being in New England reminded me of how much I miss seasons. In the Keys we have the pleasant winter, and the terribly unpleasant summer. It works for some, but not for me. Most of my spirituality is wrapped up in what’s outside the door. Tide cycles, weather, seasons and the turning inward and outward that comes with passing through winter and into spring. More and more, I want to center our girls’ learning, and our family’s seasonal celebrations, on what’s unfolding outside. It’s very hard to explain a fall equinox to a three year old who can’t see the leaves fall off the trees. There are people who find their heaven here in the tropics. The clouds are spectacular, and I’ll never forget crossing some threshold in Biscayne Bay, where the water went from brown and murky, to the brilliant tropical turquoise you only see in pictures. It is beautiful. But wow, am I ready for a different kind of beautiful.
The second reason to love Maine- people! We bought our land five years ago after falling in love with the location. We don’t have relatives, or even friends nearby. We got a sense from the stores, libraries, schools, and innkeepers, that there were like-minded people in Brooklin, Blue Hill, and Sedgwick. There’s an organic food co-op. People build and sail beautiful boats. Our neighbors (who we’ve only spoken to by phone) have a wonderful off-the-grid house. All seemed good.
On this trip I took three or four walks in the neighborhood with the girls. We walked past a well-restored yellow house with a tricycle, a Prius, and a double stroller in the driveway. Sophie took note of their trampoline. Too much stuff to be summer people. And clearly, they had kids. I didn’t think much of it until I saw them setting up for a yard sale on our last day in town. We stopped by that night and as it turns out, Jim and Heather Cassidy moved to Brooklin two years ago after falling in love with the place. They have two young daughters, and in a few days, will move onto their sailboat (sound familiar?) to take a cruise down the Intracoastal Waterway. We have Jim to thank for putting us in touch with the local who’ll install our mooring, which we hope to be floating on next spring. We met some of the Cassidy’s friends- great people with kids who were super nice to Sophie. Walking away with our purchases, we knew it was perhaps the most gratifying hour we’d spent in Brooklin. Our suspicions were confirmed. We won’t be resident aliens. We’ll have our people in Maine!
Safe passage to the Cassidy family, and a toast to the arrival of fall, whatever that means in your neck of the woods.
