Lately, my mind has been stacking up lists of things I will miss and not miss about Scotland. I will not miss the pink and black mold that creeps up often, the separate taps for hot and cold water, or drying my towels for (literally) 9 hours. Nor will I miss nearly running into people around the stone wall corners. I'm undecided about whether or not I will miss having to vault my whole body against the (sticky) front door to open it, because having to explain something about your home makes it seem more yours, endeared.
![DSC_9930 DSC_9930](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/76cfb4f963410f532705f89d9be5abec/DSC_9930-900x900.jpg)
But I will miss our garden, the squeaky birds that alight here, and the morning light piling over the walls. I will miss finding golfballs and seashells, feathers and pods in our soil.
![DSC_9987-1 DSC_9987-1](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/45dae25e0102805fb47247c87686e7bf/DSC_9987-1-900x900.jpg)
I will miss the old men in tweed suits and hats who shuffle through the town holding their wives' arms, the coffeeshops with wooden tables, the cobbled roads, the secret gardens. I will miss the late afternoon sun, because it is golden to the point of wanting to name a new colour after it.
![DSC_9984 DSC_9984](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/489af0b8413807902cccfb3675969996/DSC_9984-900x900.jpg)
![DSC_9994 DSC_9994](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/730f009176665cd29a2d410f2cdce1f6/DSC_9994-900x900.jpg)
I will miss the light skimming the top of our wall as the sound of waves diminishes in the afternoon, and the world hushes.
![DSC_9982 DSC_9982](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/5e68d3d43b2efd36b30c693025d25dc2/DSC_9982-900x900.jpg)
I'll miss the crisp shadows on the stone canvases.
![DSC_9970 DSC_9970](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/25401523f7df413900435235b8dfe01f/DSC_9970-900x900.jpg)
![DSC_9966 DSC_9966](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/da34b8cf66f0231f75d537cb4be2af8f/DSC_9966-900x900.jpg)
Someday I will miss it, because I love it so much now. But now, I will keep loving it.
Today I was in much need of a jaunt about town without time bookends, and so I went to the bookshop, and just looked, walked up and down and revisited books I was considering. I decided to buy three different books and then changed my mind at least three times. But I ended up with a real novel, the first I've read in ages. Tomorrow I will sit on the couch with the lamp hovering over me, with a cup of magenta elderflower tea, and a book.
![DSC_9962 DSC_9962](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/0cef5edaf7b24857ca79dee5184509ca/DSC_9962-900x900.jpg)
And all shall be well, in that calm instant with the light coming over the stone wall,
![DSC_9979 DSC_9979](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/bc3b4cb77726ebcf0a9d2beb9c7ef6a7/DSC_9979-900x900.jpg)
for now being luxuriated in, not missed.