After an extended leave of absense, it was not as different as I thought it would be to return home - as I walked up the stairs, it was as if I had merely taken a short jaunt to the market or perhaps taken a walk. Nonetheless, it was pleasing to again be in familiar surroundings.
This was one time I wished I had a secretary, for I found there was more than a few things to catch up on after a month's absense. I buckled down, and one by one began opening mail (snail mail and e-mail alike), checking and returning messages on Facebook and telephone; and I was happy to see I had received a card from a good friend in Maine. It is nice to be home.
I somehow did not find it odd that after sleeping until five or six in the morning while I was away I awoke my first morning back in my own bed at two a.m. Old habits die hard. Even the way one side of my back aches apparently from the way I sit in my office chair return after only a very short session at the computer, and I am pleased to announce it is aching this very moment. I never thought I would miss such a thing; it is funny how things that bother us one day can some time later become akin to seeing an old friend for the first time in a while.
The most pleasurable aspect of it all was finding that friends had been thinking of me, wondering if I was alright. This becomes increasingly important to me as I grow older, strolling down life's path to the inevitable end.
It is back to writing for me, thinking of my friends as well, living this day with a slight smile upon my face knowing all is well.
Michael Shorde
