Night Light

As the hot water boiled and churned and bubbles rushed to the surface Jenna and Bridget were having a laugh about something - I don't know what - but the sound of their combined laugh filled the air. I sat back and enjoyed the moment.

We arrived later than originally planned. We had hit traffic - a whole lot of traffic - on Route 3 North so we arrived in Vermont after a long 3.5 hour ride. We unpacked the car quickly and said hello to Jim, Bridget's Dad and our host for the weekend. He's as glad to see us as we are to see him.

I have known Jim almost as long as I have known Bridget. He is a quiet man, with a rich voice and a great laugh. I get the sense that he is always thinking about something, anything, at any given moment. Tonight Jim proudly proclaimed that he was reading the final, complete novel in the Aubrey/Maturin series - "Blue at the Mizzen". I'm only on book 5. He has clearly enjoyed this series that I recommended to him last winter. That makes me happy. Jim loves having house guests and after my first visit here he told me that we were welcome back anytime. I enjoy taking him up on his offer.

Jenna and I prepared a hearty meal of steak, broccoli and roasted potatoes as soon as we arrived. After we ate we soon learned Aaron and Sam(antha) were not going to arrive until mid-morning tomorrow so we were on our own until then. Sleeping arrangements were set up and Riley was put to bed. Meanwhile, I started reading "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer which was recommended to me by my daughter while she was reading "In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex" by Nathaniel Philbrick, which I suggested to her.

Soon afterwards we indulged in some rich conversation with Jim. The topics were all over the map and, as usual, pretty stimulating. Its really something to watch Jenna interact with adults. She carries herself very well and can usually explain her thoughts and feeling succinctly and clearly. Finally, a long hard week at work caught up with Jim and he shuffled off to bed. Jenna, Bridget and I decided it was time to enjoy the hot tub. And here we sat.

We had many plans on the morrow. Aaron was going to need some help rebuilding his car and the Young family wanted to visit Jim's dad during the afternoon. During this visit we planned that Jenna and I would take Riley into downtown Randolph for a visit to the local bookstore and the coffee shop. Of course, a game of RISK was expected and required to happen and that takes a good long time to complete. Between games and travels there would be reading and lots of it. Yet, none of the above was considered a chore. Instead, we looked upon all of it as another quiet weekend, shared with friends and family and loved ones.

Now, as I look out over the darkened field that surrounds the house, the only man-made light comes from the low, blue glow of the hot tub. Thanks to the light cloud cover there are no stars in the sky but the scant light from a nearly hidden moon still creates shadows that make the surrounding wood seem even darker. Among the darkness, laughter fills the area with the brightest light.

And I am content.