I'm here, just getting reabsorbed into work life, which always threatens to pull me under when I return from a time away. It will take me awhile to get my balance back, to return to some art making and writing, but I'm just taking it slow and letting the natural ebb and flow on my energy works its way out. I'm still doing depositions in the office, so the wear and tear on the knee is not too bad. I've felt like an outsider, but it's not from anything overt, just subtle changes in the power structure while I was gone, a result of my absence in a very pressured unit. It's been good for my associate because she's had to run with it and has done quite well.

Early this morning I had a wild dream of buying a summer house somewhere far away and needing someone to watch our dog, the one who's been gone for ten years.  We met neighbors whose son agreed to walk the dog while we were away, but while we were showing them the house, a strong storm began, with thunder and lightening and very high winds. The noise was incredible, the rain was lashing the windows like a fire hose had been aimed at them,  and we were in the basement and couldn't see what was going on. Water was coming in across the ceiling and the wind made the doors fly open. And then as suddenly as it began, it stopped and I ran upstairs to find everything in order except a dripping chimney. When we looked outside, the edge of the storm was clearly visible and highlighted by a sunny, blue sky.

I am interpreting it as a sign that the troubles that plummet us to our depths are survivable and that we are about to come out of the problems that have gripped us and threatened to shake us down for the last few years. Particularly symbolic for me was the house, because I dream of houses often and usually they are sad dreams where I love the house but suffer the loss of my family thousands of miles away. This time, I felt none of that loss and was more concerned about finding friends and adjusting to the new area we were living in. Even the return of our long-dead dog was comforting. I think  the cycle we've been in for so long is about to break.