.

Last night when I got home from work, I went to sit on the dock and our old boat whizzed by, a stranger at the wheel. I felt stunned.

I loved that boat. My husband sold it out from under me before I even got back to Maine last spring.

It occurs to me that while I surround myself with things from our past, he divorced himself, not just from me, but from everything that was our life. Everything.

I am in our sweet little cottage with my beloved dogs, my rocking chair, my toothbrush. He is in a new place, surrounded by new furniture, new art (presumably), a new partner, new everything.

My grandma would have said, "he's a cold fish." Indeed.

Friends advised me to sell everything, start anew, make new memories. I can understand the wisdom of this. But, I am surrounded by things I love and the memories won't be painful ones forever. Let's face it: I was happy for many many years, leading what I thought was a charmed life, and one day I'll look back with fondness and gratitude.

Someday, I'll see our old boat go by and think, Oh, I loved that boat. Remember that wonderful day when we . . . ?