I’ll be off to the cottage this coming Sunday. Yes, I’m renting again for another season. For those of you who don’t know about this win-win cottage deal of mine, let me fill you in. For five months, from mid-November to mid-April, I housesit at a cottage by the sea while the owner heads to the warmth of the south. During the week days I live in solitude at the cottage, with only what I need: food, clothing, books, computer. I spend my time sitting and watching the sunrise, the tides, the mergansers; I walk the beach; I read and write; I pray.
Then when the weekend rolls around, I pack up my books and computer and return home to the social part of my life, to my husband, visiting children and grandchildren, friends and church.
For someone like me, who is looking for silence, solitude and simplicity and who sometimes likes to be alone, the cottage offers a perfect situation. For someone like me, who is quite social, who loves family, friends and church, and who thrives on balance, my home is also a perfect situation.