More MassAdventures...

Happy 4th of July! Wow, that really came up quick! Has the Fourth of July always come so early in the month?
The girls are adjusting to all the changes, but it's not been entirely smooth. It's like changing gears on a rusty bike: first you spin the pedals as fast as you can with no results, then a few grinding metallic jerks slow you down, finally the chain catches and you can get somewhere. Clara has spent a few days in her room alone, so she's happy to ham up for the camera. Roses is starting the "terrible twos" and is adamantly independent. It's a good thing for us she is incredibly loving. I was fortunate to snap a picture just in time to catch her using giant chopsticks all by herself!
Here is the mural in West Cemetary. Emily Dickinson is the most prominent person from Amherst, and this portrait was painted so that, as you walk by, she always seems to be looking at you. I also think it's interesting that she was painted so that she was partially hidden by a tree. She was a nature lover, and became notoriously reclusive in her later years.

Standing there touching her gravestone was more profound than I could have expected. She was too unsure of herself, and so unlike any other poet, that she never was published in her own life. She never married, and lost several people who were dear to her. She never did know how loved she could be for all that she was able to express. Look at all those offerings! We are always grateful for those who say what we cannot.
There were many Dickinsons there, and all the people the streets here were named after. The oldest gravestone we found (that was still readable) was for a woman born in 1700.
I couldn't possibly fit all the wonderful pictures I've taken, and of course no photo could fully contain the experience of being here, of feeling the history. It's as if the ground you stand on is more certain. It's older, more confident of itself. This place knows its own mind, has written its own stories. There is not the adolescent struggle for identity. (At least not until the undergrads get here in the fall.) ;) There are more people outdoors here, nature is more enjoyable. It makes one feel like a human being, in the purest sense. Despite the craziness of the last two weeks, the rhythm here is slower. Perhaps it's not having a car or office job that makes me feel less like an air-conditioned, disconnected box-stuffer. When I'm riding on the bus I can relax; I can look out the window
and think quietly, the way I did when I was a child. The scenery is different, but I'm sure I brought the right mind with me.
Well, it's late here. I've got tons more to say and to show you, but I need to wake up in six hours. Here is the sunset out our living room window at 9:30PM.
We love you and miss you. Don't forget to post comments! We would love some familiar voices.