Yesterday I stepped on a shell or piece of glass in the sand, sliced open the underside of one toe. So just admiring the beach from afar today while it heals up a bit. Four foot rollers out on the Gulf, the same steady whitecaps on the Sound. Those are most adequate companions for a Monday.
Night comes quickly after sunset here. I walk the short distance back to my house even as the colors fade to indigo. I make my rounds and gently close all the curtains on another day. There is a certain peace that blooms inside when I do this. I don't have to close them, there are almost no other people around. But there are the nesting turtles or hatchlings that might grow disoriented by the house lights to consider, even though I am sure it is not time for either of those.
Then there is the dark to consider. When I step out on the deck at night, the stars are vivid and bright. Orion positively blazes above my head. I spin in delight trying to take all of it in. A light stabs into my eyes from the house next door - unrented. Why does the exterior light need to be on if no one is coming home? It contaminates my perfect dark. I don't want to contaminate anyone's dark, so closed blinds are a must.
In the morning there is the opposing ritual of opening the curtains, of inviting in the light. Where the evening ritual brings peace, this one is an energized joy as I take a moment to take in the view from each door and window, visiting with them like old friends.
A memory surfaced this morning as I brushed aside yet another curtain and stared out into the Gulf, of my grandparents doing this exact ritual at their lake house. Closing the curtains at the end of the day and opening them up again in the morning. My brothers, who stayed in the room above the boathouse, were not allowed up to the cottage if the drapes were closed. I am sure they did this even when the boys were not there. My grandmother continued to do it when they moved to Cali.
Such a sweet memory that I had misplaced jostled free by unforgiving wind and four foot rollers in the Gulf.
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