I thought about waiting until the winter solstice to post again, just to make it seem as though I'd been somewhat deliberate about disappearing for months on end. But then I decided not to wait.

I'm coming up on four months of life back on this side of the Atlantic--coming up, too, on the moment when I'll reenter my own country for a flash of time before returning for the continuation of my latest year away.

Thanksgiving this week staggered me through a range of realizations, chief amongst them that (I learn this over and over again all the time, because I keep forgetting it) there are other people in the world who enjoy spending time with me. The exploits are too many and varied to enumerate here, and most of them rely on chance encounters and someone's willingness to step out and ask an unexpected question or say yes to an unanticipated offering. All over again, I feel myself loosening my grasp on how I think things are supposed to happen.