The Splitters

Outside the window of the second-floor bedroom I call my office, the yellow leaves of the huge ash tree have pretty much fallen. Last week I could hardly see the across-the-court condo neighbors for the blaze of color. This morning it was like kicking through a new snowfall to reach the newspapers at the end of the driveway. There are still orange and yellow maples blazing in the distance and plenty of purplish red colors for leaf peeping, but one good rainfall will bring them all down.

I love driving on these last warm fall days, seeing the colors off in the distance. Walking's not bad either, as long as the leaves are dry and crunchy. I think it was Anna Quindlen, though I'm not sure why I think that, who wrote that we love most the season we were born in. I love "my" summer a lot, but I'm beginning to love fall even more.

What I don't like is winter. So when my husband retired, we bought a little house in Florida and became what our friend Peter (who knows more about Florida, home ownership, moving around, living in two places than anybody) calls Splitters. I couldn't see myself in Florida year around so we split our time between Florida and New Jersey. We bounce back and forth on occasion, thus the Splitter thing. So far, so good.

And now the leaves are falling, which means time to pack up my writing notes, say goodbye to my fellow New Jersey writers and friends and our quick trips into the city, and head South. It hit me this morning as I was reading the paper. Even though my husband didn't stay retired long, we did attempt it. Maybe the suggestions in Key to a New Retired Life: Get Involved might have been a better way to look at that leisure time!

Mostly what I need to travel back and forth is a decent laptop and a good library in both places we live. I don't like hauling things from one house to another. Looks like I'm on the right track. Another article in my morning paper tells me not to fret over dragging clothes from one place to another. I've mostly always traveled light, hoping to find what I forget at my destination. My sister can attest to that, even though now I've grown up and no longer swipe her favorite nightgown when I touch down in her space. (Though I always appreciated her loaners. Thanks, Sis!)

So I guess it's time to pack up the writing notes and my favorite sneakers and head South. Check out what's new at the library, check in with my Florida writing buddies. If the leaves are down, winter isn't far behind.