Pellet Season
Ahh… Pellet season. Time to do a little heavy lifting and feel the warmth. The little things are easy to miss… See what you notice.
Read or listen… and stack a few bags if you like.
It‘s that time of year again. A chill is in the air. The leaves are turning. The creemes are on vacation. Many packing up and heading south for the winter.
Ambiance has a nice ring to it. Four tons of pellets—glad I can still find the energy to move them down to the basement—and then up again when we need some.
Glad to help our neighbors up North.
Thinking of the old days. Missing my son to help me with the chores. He has his own house now… with his wife, a little flower to nurture, and plenty of chores of their own.
I’d like to play some ping pong. We used to do that a lot in the winter… need to play by myself now. If only I could find a ball. They tend to fly away—like butterflies.
I need to talk to my wife about cleaning off the ping pong table, but she needs that space for her fabrics. So she can make her special blankets and gift bags.
I hate to even ask. That seems more important than ping pong.
Yeah… butterflies. I love butterflies. Like my beautiful granddaughters—two in Poughkeepsie and one new one across the pond in Marlow. My wife and her chums tell me there are a lot of murder mysteries in that neck of the woods.
Pretty amazing how those pellets work to keep our house warm. The butterflies warm my heart. We all need it right now—a little chilly out there.
Maybe I‘ll buy another table for my wife’s big little projects and fold up the ping pong table so I can play by myself.
Yeah, that might work. I’ll try not to do that with my clients. They like it when we sit together and feel like I’m listening… not playing by myself. Helps them feel less alone.
Pellet season doesn‘t last forever. Life is always changing, but I know where I live with my wife—nearby a small lake in Vermont on Blissville Road… for real.
I think I’ll take a slow walk and think about butterflies. The leaves are changing and falling. Always beauty sitting next to the pain.
Soon the snowflakes will be my butterflies. Just a little ping pong between my mind and heart.
Not sure I need a table anymore. I did find the ball. Hope you did too.
Stay warm and rest a bit… in the light of invisibility. Let the melody take you home—dancin’ all the way.
You are forgiven… Me too.
Dedication: To all those on this journey of heart, moving from room to room, remembering themselves—and who we are together, even when we feel alone or lost in a crowd… or don’t hear so well anymore.
Gratitude: With appreciation for those who have shared their light and sweetness with me over the years—and received mine in return.
Confidentiality note: This piece was inspired by someone close to my heart, but is a composite of many people I know—inside and outside of therapy. Any resemblance to your own life or our shared experience is both coincidental and universal—reminding us that our stories echo one another in the fabric of human experience.
Comments or questions? You’re welcome to reach me at mcecilvt@aol.com. Feel free to share these words—and this blog—with anyone you hold close… or long to be closer to.
Challenge: Notice your growing edge and hang out there a bit. See what you notice and share it with someone close to heart. Sprinkle in a few more pellets and a little Marc if you need it.
About me: Besides being a writer, Marc Cecil is a doctoral-level licensed psychologist, certified AEDP supervisor, approved EMDR consultant, and senior CSRT consultant. An experienced psychotherapist, supervisor, consultant, and teacher, Marc uses an integrated experiential model called Core Self Integration Therapy (CSIT)—grounded in our capacity for adaptive change—to help people heal from complex relational, developmental, and transgenerational trauma. Some refer to it as Elephant Work—standing solidly in the healing power of accompaniment.
Dr. Cecil lives in Vermont near the shores of Lake Bomoseen, where his heartfelt stories and images of connection arise from the light of invisibility—bringing life to therapy and therapy to life.
Stay tuned for more—as this living model continues to grow—with self-compassion leading the way around the world… and back home.
