An Anniversary

One year ago today was the beginning of my London adventure—the date of our departure.

It seems both longer ago—like in a different lifetime—and at the same time it's hard to believe it's been that long. Since the memories, and the very flavor of that time, are very much still with me.

Although I like where I live [it's been a little too hot this summer for me to be able to say I love it], and I love my country and my job, occasionally I miss my time in London so keenly and profoundly it almost takes my breath away. It's an experience I wouldn't trade for anything and in many ways was the most exciting time of my life. I have a very strong desire to return to the city, and I imagine I will, at some future point, but—unless I opt for another teaching gig, which is unlikely—I'll be there on vacation, not living there, and it just won't be the same.

Many of my feelings about London I recently found expressed better than I could hope to in a wonderful book that my ever-thoughtful sister found for me—Imagined London: A Tour of the World's Greatest Fictional City, by Anna Quindlen. I've admired Ms. Quindlen's writing for many years, so how magical to find that her feelings were so similar to mine, upon finally visiting in reality the city she had so often visited in books! I only wish I'd read it before I left, although I'm not sure if her observations would have had the same resonance for me before last September 4th. However, if you're planning a trip to the "greatest fictional city," and you've read any English literature at all, you should definitely read Imagined London.

My London memories are being kept alive in a very real way as I work on my website, the title graphic for which is above. I struggled for quite a while to find what I thought was an apt title phrase for the collection of photos and reminiscences [that I hope to have finished by the end of the year]. But since the experience, while still vivid in memory, becomes more and more like a dream as the time passes, "Dream Season" seems to express this magical quality the best.

When the website is ready for viewing, I'll post an announcement here, and hope you'll enjoy reliving my London experience through it.

But for now, I'll close this anniversary remembrance with a quote from Quindlen's book that I could use as an introduction to any retelling of my London story:

This is the story of a woman and the city she loved
before she'd ever been there.
The city, of course, is London, and the woman is me.