We’re home — it may take me a day or two to get back into the swing of things again. I’m in no hurry. I haven’t worn a watch for days – I am relaxed, totally behind the times and unconcerned about catching up with the clock. The dogs were thrilled to see us and the house looks better than I left it – it’s nice to be home and yet….
We have had the best time. I wore the soles off my sandals. We played a Princess Monopoly game that lasted two days. We collected a wealth of sea glass and bartered in shells, the currency of Mudge. We watched the sun set and rise again. We wandered for miles and hours. We shared laughs, meals and stories. Time stood still and flew in the same moment.
There is an aging Audubon clock on the wall above the kitchen table in Mudge, it hangs beside a fading nautical chart and has marked time in the cabin for years. The minutes on the clock march in an orderly fashion, they tick and tock in the traditional way. The hours are announced by the calls of designated birds – an owl is perched on twelve, a cardinal on three. The clock keeps perfect time but the announcements are always a bird behind.
There is something serendipitous about that clock and that place. An hour is an hour regardless of where you are, but only on Mudge is it always a bird behind.
I think that is how Mudge works – I’ve come home a bird behind. I’m totally Mudged.