Mady.
A random passageway.
Portland, Maine.
'I like that' she said.
'Go down there, about half way' I said.
Click.
- - - - -
July 25, 2025 - 7:14AM...
'The last full day here. Low tide. We've had amazing weather. Mady was asleep on the couch when I came downstairs. Coffee's made. I had a bowl of cereal with blueberries. I'm already beginning to feel a sadness well up inside me. It's the one that says goodbye. It's the one that tells me so much about a place and what it means to me. There really is something to being more in tune with the sun and the tides. There's a simplicity to it, yet it's profound. Sleep is deeper. Heavier. More nourishing. I'll miss it. We drove to Portland yesterday. We stopped at a sportscard shop first for Ollie which he loved. Then, we drove to the downtown waterfront, walked and shopped. Well...the kids shopped. We ate at High Rollers. Everyone enjoyed their meal. I had a baker's dozen of oysters that truly hit the spot. A quick stop at Starbucks for a few odds and ends so we could use the bathroom before heading back to Indian Point. The sun is shining thru the windows...warming my face...telling me to remember.'
M A I N E ...
3 days ago • Visible to anyone on or off LinkedIn
July 22, 2025 - 6:25AM…
Awake for the last hour…in Maine. We shouldn’t be here for so many reasons, yet I’m so glad we are. Everyone is in good spirits coming off of a few days in Utica. We’re here until Saturday. There’s something about Mady going away in August that makes this trip in particular so damn bittersweet. When I stirred at 5:30AM she was awake and had already walked down to the water. I followed suit. Low tide. Crisp temps. A new way to access the beach this year due to the ever shifting tides. The wildness here never rests. I’ve got coffee brewing. The sun is shining thru the windows lighting up this journal as I write. A bottle of water by my side to get things started. No idea what we’re up to today. Doesn’t matter. Windows are cracked. The sound of the sea in the background. All is right with the world for the moment. A sleeping house. Sara and I celebrate 19 years today. Seems like yesterday that she walked into the office and into my life. What a wild ride. I am so incredibly lucky.
Drift...
I walk slower these days.
I don't need much convincing to eat ice cream.
It's easy to close my eyes and doze off.
The proverbial old man.
Makes me smile to write that.
Drift.
The other day...
I went to the pool the other day. I didn’t really want to go but Ollie was there and hoping that I would show up so I did. I found his stuff and took the chaise alongside…three rows back from the pool’s edge…overflowing with young kiddos and their respective young parents…laughing, splashing and drinking beer — the future crop of the neighborhood. Teenagers in groups of two and three flirted and circled the pool deck…checking themselves and each other out, while the eldest of the community carved out the lap lanes…slowly, methodically making their way back and forth. I just sat there, noticing it all…three layers removed. Now I’m here , a couple of days later, sitting at the picnic table, listening to the birds and scribbling these words.
