Pages

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Even in Paradise it's lonely!


We look forward to summers, when the rains stop and visitors make their way to us.  They marvel at the vistas, the cool summer temperatures, the isolation, the tranquillity.

We tell them that without their visit, this place is lonely.
They can't imagine that.

Yes, we say, there is just so much Paradise one can enjoy. Company is what we need. Please, return, stay as long as you can.  Tell us about the world we left behind.

This week, my youngest son is up with us, with his pup and his girlfriend.  The house is now filled with sound and movement and activities.  The pup, a lab, loves to swim in the lake, loves to chase birds in the garden.

Each guest/visitor brings a new vibe, a new rhythm, a new note to the symphony.  Some visitors, actually compose new music while up here; or paint a new picture; or write a new story.  This place inspires.

But, without company, it is empty.

43 comments:

Tess Kincaid said...

Thanks for sharing a bit of your paradise with us! That fourth pic down is just amazing!

xxx said...

I love these photos Rosaria, they're wonderful.

Yes I agree with you... We lived in a national park for two years. It was glorious, but without visitors it could have grown very lonely.

love to you and enjoy all the noise and many more summers of love and fun.
x Robyn

What About The Girl? said...

I love the title of your post!
It gave me goose bumps.
And yes, it's true.
"Without company, it is empty".
No man is an island.
I LOVE the fourth picture down.

Polar Bear said...

Lovely photos and comentary. We can share your feelings as they have universal currency Polar Bear

Nancy said...

I absolutely know what you mean. We feel the same way. Thank goodness next week begins a series of visits. I really miss living in the same town as my daughters, son-in-law and grandson. I know I wouldn't see them everyday, or even every weekend, but it would be nice to know they are close. At least you have one daughter fairly close.

The Oregon Coast in the winter is very quiet - I can see how it might get a bit lonely. But then, maybe it's kind of a quiet, lonely time of our lives. I don't know. I've been thinking a lot about that lately.

Life As I Know It said...

yes, company is good. and this post gives me hope that my parents don't mind the kids and I staying with them for a week + every July :)

ellen abbott said...

Our house has been filled with visits this summer, a procession of grandkids. They love all the space out here and then it's back to their tiny little house in the crowded city.

Enchanted Oak said...

I'm glad you have company and loved ones dropping in. My eldest daughter is visiting from Oregon on her summer trek down the West Coast. Wish I were headed your way and could visit your lovely beach. Our beaches are wonderful, but so familiar. A change of scene is fabulous.

Saretta said...

Hope the guests keep flowing to you!

Brian Miller said...

smiles. paradise is best shared. hope you enjoy all your guests this summer....

Butternut Squash said...

It is beautiful. We all need a little empty space to think and create in. It is wonderful that you can be that lovely empty canvass for your visitors.

Unknown said...

I really wish I had known you when we were out west last fall....We definitely would have stopped to say hello! Your coastline is I think the most beautiful in the country. I, too, love company!

Cloudia said...

understand completely!





Aloha from Waikiki

Comfort Spiral

Snowbrush said...

I'm so glad you enjoy your company. I well understand what you mean about loneliness.

Lyn said...

Firstly, love the photos Rosaria. Secondly, I agree with your thoughts; when we experience something special, our deepest desire is to share it with our loved ones. We recently bought our own pieace of paradise and all I can think of is sharing it with my family. So happy for you that you have a steady stream of visitors to fill your home with laughter.

Arkansas Patti said...

Oh I bet you got to hear all that lovely music. Company, entertainment and georgeous views.
Lucky you.

Maggie May said...

Its a kind of all or nothing experience, isn't it?
Must be good to have company after being isolated for much of the time, though.
Maggie X

Nuts in May

NitWit1 said...

I love the water reflections as well as the rocks along the shore, and of course the DOG.

Although I am a person who loves some solitude, I also thrive in the role of social volunteer, which I mean most of my volunteer work involves peoople.

Some of this is organized, and some of it is personal decisions like picking up a car for my housekeeper who has been without for a month and has a very restricted budget.

rjerdee said...

So much fun to see pictures of you at your table filled with people...you're so right about how people are needed to share in the joys of your paradise. It isn't really paradise without them.

the walking man said...

Not empty, just less company. I could afford about 100 bus tickets from Detroit to your place. Of course they would have to be one way...expenses and all you know?

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

I know exactly how yuou must feel, lakeviewer. Have a wonderful time with your visitors. Simi says hello to the pup!

Everyday Goddess said...

Well, at least you have all of us!

But seriously, I get depressed when it's too lonely!

have a great time with your guests, xo

Midlife Roadtripper said...

I like the third picture. I want to be there. And at the table too. Looks most inviting and fun.

Company - so much fun. And then the quiet. Sometimes that is okay, too.

Rachel Cotterill said...

I love having visitors, too :)

Pseudo said...

The yin and the yang of Paradise and retirement. Will keep this is mind when I long for quiet moments.

Trish and Rob MacGregor said...

Wow, it really is paradise - especially with your kids and their loved ones and the animals around!

A House and Home said...

Here's wishing you some colorful guests.

ds said...

What a lovely, congenial place to gather. You must be the best hosts ever to inspire such creativity. Of course, it helps that you are so creative yourself; I, too, love that photo of the giant rocks(?) on the beach. Here's to Paradise!

Rob-bear said...

Delightfully written. People do bring so much into our lives. From stories to dogs.

Jo said...

Your table looks wonderful. I love the blue glasses and the blue tablecloth. Gorgeous!

I know what you mean, though. I have the munchkins coming to stay with me this week, and my house will be filled with noise again. I love it. :-)

Marguerite said...

Looks like a great time! I have a lot of company, so I sort of relish the quiet times. But, I don't think that I could live too far away from my kids. Enjoy!

Amanda Summer said...

what a spectacular place you live in. enjoy having your loved ones around you♡

Sheri said...

what a lovely tribute to the people you love, the ones that fill your home and heart with love! i'm so glad you found some much needed companionship, if only for the summer :)

yaya said...

Hello! Thanks for visiting my blog..I'm really enjoying yours and will come back to visit often. You live in such a pretty place. Enjoy your Summer and feel free to visit Whispering Pines any time!

Dimple said...

There is a balance to reach: enough solitude vs enough company. It is hard to do, because other people do not always respond to our needs. For myself, this non-response is often because I don't speak my needs to them! Thanks for another thought-provoking post, for wonderful pictures of your visitors, and for visiting!

Tina said...

awww thats so sad. its the place everyone wants to be but not to live in huh?

glad the visitors you get makes you happy. the pictures are gorgeous.

Tina from
Mummy Diaries
Gossip Avenue
Travel Shack
Game FreakZ

Relyn Lawson said...

Paradise is right. I was just on the Oregon coast last week. Pure heaven!

Amanda Summer said...

rosaria - there's an award for you on my blog♡

Ann Best said...

As you recently commented on my blog, making revisions of a personal nature is most difficult. You know, of course, having written an excellent memoir.

I agree about too much paradise, that is, too much being alone. I wish Jen and I had more visitors going in and out of our house, though if this were true I wouldn't get much writing done! But we are having a second visitor in a week and a half, my ex-sister in law from from Michigan. Friends from Utah visited us about a month ago. This is unusual to get two such visits a year! It's exciting. I just wish we had the cool summer temperatures here in Virginia like the ones you mention that you have!!

Ann Best said...

p.s. I forgot to comment on your photographs. You post so many lovely ones. I love to see photos on blogs. These illustrate what you talk about in your post. It is very beautiful country.

Velva said...

This was a wonderful post. I love when you share your moments with us.

RNSANE said...

The Oregon coast is such a lovely place to visit. I haven't done it enough - I've always been trapsing too far afield. Now that my wings are clipped financially, I need to trek closer to home.

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

So true, about visitors and sharing. I finally have come to the realization how much I miss that and how my messy basement was a roadblock I was keeping up. I'm working on it finally and see an end in sight and visitors again...