In the year’s tail-end days, the neighbors’ children sled down their short hill, hats off, snowsuits unzipped in the warm afternoon. I wander over with a tin of sweets and chat for a bit about sledding conditions, getting the low-down on the mixture of slush and ice. The full moon rises silently, December’s Long Night Moon. Various blues layer the sky, the hues that remind me of the sea in my land-locked geography.
During the in-between pieces of holiday and work, I’m slowly savoring The Eight Mountains by Paolo Cognetti, an Italian novel about deep friendship and love of great mountains. A main character, Bruno, speaks about rebuilding a tumbled-in Alpine house: “Look, it doesn’t matter how long it takes. If you try to think too far ahead with this kind of work, it’ll drive you nuts.” Likewise: writing a book, parenting, living a life.
The neighbors’ children offer me a handful of wet snow, chock-full with dirt and last year’s sunflower seed hulls.
Stony Soil Vermont 
Thank you Brett, beautiful. Millicent Flake
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Thank you. ✨
A beautiful gift from the kids.
Happy New year neighbor!
So true!
The Eight Mountains looks fabulous…. thank you for always enriching our lives with your beautiful words and recommendations. Have a Blessed and Joyful New Year!!
P.S. should blessed and joyful be capitalized?😳
I’d go with that capitalization. A little more Joy would surely help all of us.
I’m going to put that book on my “To Read” list
Lovely piece, as always and a fabulous quote. I definitely need to stop looking too far ahead for the moment, or it will truly drive me nuts.
The Eight Mountains is a fabulous book. I recommend looking for a copy….. might help head off wisps of craziness.