May 16, 2008

rain and a homecoming

Rain all day, a decided perk about library work is that rain suits the job. Nothing as cozy as being in a library surrounded by books and the interior hush, rain falling steadily outside.

The oldest son is home from college, tons of bags, good will, and summer plans. The husband who fetched him was exhausted. The oldest son went out around ten, already restless. Do you remember that kind of restlessness? I was talking about that a few days ago with a friend at work. Remember that kind of crazy edgy restlessness as a teenager? I would hang out my (very high up) bedroom window on summer nights, listening to the sounds of the night, feeling crazy with the sense of confinement, the lure of a summer night, the heat and the sound of cicadas, the random cars driving on the road (going somewhere, somewhere exciting!). Now I am all for what I am aiming for right now - bed and my book - the Girls Like Us giant sized memoir I am reading in small bits. If Carole King rewrote Up on the Roof nowadays, maybe she'd write "snug in my bed" instead. At least on a rainy chilly night.

2 comments:

Nan said...

Beautiful piece. I do indeed remember the feelings and the way the air felt. Restlessness is the perfect word. There was a kind of yearning for something and I didn't even know what it was. Going out at 10! That's the thing that amazes me about my kids. :<)

Susan Moorhead said...

I just read this now - and my home from college son just left the house to go out - at 10:30 pm. He is back from his first year away at college and is feeling very hemmed in after a year of freedom.