As the day approaches for my northward move from the Georgia countryside back to a more urban setting in Virginia, I’ve been contemplating the rapid passage of the last six years and the late-in-life changes awaiting me in the future.

These years in the quietude of the rural southland have confirmed what I’ve always known about myself: I’m a city girl. I thought that, at this stage of my life, I might be ready for a simpler, more peaceful existence; but I have found all of this peace and quiet to be — for me, at least — highly overrated. It’s certainly not a bad thing; it’s just not who I am.

I have missed the hustle and bustle, and the easy accessibility of everything: theaters, restaurants, shops, Uber and taxis, home delivery services . . . even the sounds of traffic and sirens and people shouting above the noise.

But no experience need ever be wasted. I have learned a bit about the local wildlife, met some lovely new people, and finally found the time to write the book I’d been thinking about for so many years . . . though goodness knows if it will ever be published. Still, just writing it was an accomplishment.

And now, as I once again shift gears, I have a better understanding of the words of John Guare, the American playwright and screenwriter — best known as the author of “The House of Blue Leaves” and my favorite, “Six Degrees of Separation” — who also wrote:

“It’s amazing how a little tomorrow can make up for a whole lot of yesterday.”

– John Guare, “Landscape of the Body”

And it is with that sense of optimism that I look forward to whatever number of tomorrows await me some 500 miles farther north.

First, of course, I have to get through the move. But after that, it’s onward and upward.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/25/26