I am very lucky to live in two places I enjoy for very different reasons, but transitioning, especially to Houston, is a bit of a challenge.
From May until November, as soon as my eyes are open I look out the window to Rockport Harbor. It’s a beautiful view no matter the season, and my last glimpse of it is etched in my mind.
This morning I woke up and everything was so unfamiliar. The view outside the window was a water soaked fence and plants bedraggled by too much rain. The only water is that which flows in the fountain outside the breakfast room, and it looked neglected and sad as did everything around it.
I sat for a few minutes wondering where I belong. I love those months in Maine where we have made wonderful friends with whom we frequently gather. I love the beauty of the place, the unhurried lifestyle, the boat trips, the islands, the lobster boats and lighthouses. It is the place where I feel so at ease and where my gray hairs and jeaned self fit right in.
Houston is such a contrast. It’s BIG, and there’s more of everything from traffic to restaurants to entertainment and shopping opportunities. It is the place I have lived most of my adult life, and the hubby and I are lucky to live in a wonderful neighborhood where most of our friends still reside. The down side is that people have so many distractions that it can be difficult to spend time together. Spontaneous gatherings are almost an impossibility.
Houston is the place that will always seem like home, but there is no question that Maine is the way life should be.
However, once I go to Costco and get a tennis match or two under my belt, all will seem like normal, at least until May!
i so appreciate your visit and the comments you leave behind
Lulu's Musings 
I love these window boxes! Maine is so beautiful via your lens. 🙂
You always transition. This year will not be different. I enjoy both of your worlds.
i can see how hard it must be to transition from Maine to Houston, but I am sure that when you arrive back home to Houston, your love for that area comes back pretty quickly…two places that you love that are so different. Hope the rain has stopped for you out there!
Rain again the next couple of days. Everything is drenched!⛈
I know how you feel but isn’t it nice to be able to enjoy two homes that are so different.
Indeed it is. Are you in Florida yet?
What a great contrast and it’s good to know you will return to each place again and again…
You make a good point.
Great post!
💌
I have always wished we had 2 places. I still do. I would love to have a place to go in the winter. Then again I would love a place in the mountains for the Fall. Now that we are retired we need to RENT places and go while we still can! Lovely post.
Renting makes a lot of sense because it gives you lots of flexibility and is likely to be less expensive.
Wonderful post!! I can so understand your feelings about both places but I am finding the older I get, the more I love the slower paced life that seems to be fading away.
It’s a challenge to be slow anywhere, but a small town does make it easier.
Your sentiments are identical to mine. In splitting my time between Camden, Maine and Venice, Florida, I too go through withdrawal and then re-entry symptoms. But I’ve also lived in Ohio, New Jersey and Delaware, and when I visit those places always feel at home there, too. So I think it simply means that “home” is where you are happy and comfortable, and for some of us that can be many places.
Beautiful photos, Linda!
Thank you, Judy. Your comment is a good reminder that one should make the best of wherever he is.
Lucky you!
Yes, I just have to remember that!
I am with you. We own a large home in a forest up a long winding driveway in COLORADO and we own a beach home in GALVESTON. The transition is sad, always. Life is isolated in CO and harder as we age. Long drives, snow driving, but a set of kids and a grandchild are here. Its hard but we are so BLESSED to own two such diverse WORLDS. Love your blogs. Thanks to Sylvia Horne!
You have the right attitude. I’m glad to know you are a friend of Sylvia’s and I very much appreciate your interest in my blog.
We’re lucky to have 4 seasons in Tennessee, also. And I like the fact that we have water, mountains, and Costco! Maybe you should join us here!
One of our daughters lives in Franklin where we so enjoy visiting. She is the main reason we drive. She is the halfway point.
Absolutely love Franklin. So many antique shops, specialty shops, dress shops . . .
Yep, there’s even a Lulu’s there!