The time between...

We're approaching the summer solstice, just over a week away, when the slow incoming tide of time that makes each day a bit longer than the last will finally begin to recede, and we start the journey towards autumn.

Even before moving to New England, it was my favorite time of year. The turn of the air towards the chill of winter, but still with a hint of the passing summer to make it more pleasant than cold. The soft susurrus of the falling leaves in the ever present breezes. And all the smells, the sweet scents, and the first hints of woodsmoke.

Imagine autumn at our cottage, a warm fire in the outdoor pit, curled together beneath a heavy blanket under the trees in the long afternoon light, your head and hand resting on my chest, as the strong thump-thumping of my heart lulls you asleep. There is so much in this world that I want to share with you, my sweet girl.

As I lie awake in the small hours of the morning, there is both comfort and a touch of sadness in my dreaming, for your presence in, and absence from, my world, temporary though the latter may be. Perhaps by the time the leaves begin to turn, you will be in my arms. I love you, my dear heart, and I will be right here, now and always.