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| At last, we're home! |
For a moving company, the last week of June is the busiest
week of the year. I know this because the Bekins man told me, and tomorrow
morning, the twenty sixth of June, an army of movers are going to arrive at my home in Illinois and load all of my possessions - treasure, junk, BOOKS, and my Oreck vacuum cleaner - into a big truck. After spending the last four summers, and most holidays, in Bath, Joe and I have decided to live in Maine all
year round. But hellos are easy, and goodbyes are hard. I voted yes for the pine tree state because I quickly fell in love with the community of Bath. My rapture for Bath however, does not make moving any easier. Tomorrow I am officially saying goodbye to my home of twenty-five years, the place where I saw my
three children go off to kindergarten, graduate from high school, pack for
college, return with friends and sweethearts, and announce their engagements.
Over the past few months, Joe and I have packed up a home filled with photos
and trophies, and we have bid farewell to our friends and neighbors on Fair Elms Avenue. We have shed a fair amount of tears. I don’t recommend moving unless you have found a good place to go, and you know it’s the right time to be there. (It also helps if
at least one of your adult children happen to live in driving distance of your new permanent address. Today I woke up at o’dark early remembering "Easy," a 1977 hit song by the Commodores. The lyrics “I'm easy as Sunday Morning,” kept repeating in my head. I had to smile because I felt relaxed for the first time in weeks! Let me count the reasons why moving across the country to Bath, Maine, is a victory, not a loss.
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| Big Al from Wiscasset shops at Bath Farmers' Market |
The Bath Farmers’ Market is filled with engaging vendors, luscious red
strawberries, leafy-green vegetables, multi-grain bread, ginger scones and free
music. And sometimes you even find yourself standing in line behind a local
celebrity like Big Al! Until I read the June issue of Down East magazine
(the one with the Puffin on the cover), I didn’t know that Al Cohen, the
discount king of Route 1, started his retail career in New York City, my birthplace.
The next time I see Al waiting for pastries at Beryl’s I'll have to
tell him that we have something in common. I know he’ll laugh because as Ron
Currie pointed out in his Down East article, Al has a heart as big as his store, Big Al’s Super Values, in Wiscasset!
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| A breathtaking garden on Washington Street |
In June, July and August, the flowers are spectacular all
around the city. They are so pretty that walking my dog down the street is purely delightful. You can see and smell blossoming flowers at every gate and door. Recently, a
stranger reminded me of how breathtaking our local gardens can be. Penny, my
dachshund-sheltie, had stopped to sniff a blade of grass, when a woman clearly serious about her daily exercise passed us at a brisk pace. I was surprised when a few seconds later she stopped and shouted, “Look at this!” She waited until I reached her side, and then she rhetorically asked, "Aren't they beautiful?" When I looked, I spied the Armentrout’s private garden and quietly responded,
“Yes, two artists live here.” Truth be told, Sam Armentrout likes to paint when she is not selling real estate, but John Armentrout thoroughly enjoys tending to their garden every sunny day, and some cloudy days, too.
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| A view from the top of a cliff on Bowery Street in Bath |
The architecture in Bath is stunning. Perhaps that’s because
some of the best craftsmen were drawn here to build sailing ships in the
nineteenth century, and their descendants still know how to
work with wood, stone and wrought iron. Every year, Sagadahoc Preservation,
Inc. has a house and garden tour. This year’s tour included some homes with spectacular views. From the master bedroom of a hard-to-miss house on Bowery Street, I looked out on to a green field that gently directed my eyes to the Kennebec River. This unique home is built into a cliff where the Texas Steamship Company, and later the Stinson Canning
Company, once stood. It was designed for the twenty-first century.but it reflects the skill and imagination that Bath shipbuilders have brought to their work for over three hundred years. Before exiting, I thanked the owner and builder, Mr. Klingaman. He nodded, and then he bent over a chair and repaired it on the spot, and I was genuinely impressed.
Tomorrow morning a moving truck will be parked on Fair Elms Avenue. Joe and our son, Mark, will be there to see it loaded. I'll be here on Washington Street getting ready for its arrival. As an easy Sunday fades away, I'm starting to worry about a hard Monday. Moving will always be difficult, but it helps to be excited about where you're going. And when your dog feels at home in their new space, you'll know that you've made the right move. Dogs know a good spot when they find one, and most people do, too!
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| Penny has found a good spot to be in Bath. |
