Last night one of the overhead lightbulbs in the kitchen burned out, so I stopped by the hardware store this afternoon for a replacement. The wayward bulb was one of the last incandescents left on the main floor; I snapped its compact fluorescent successor in place without too much trouble. One more item off the to do list.

If you’ve ever used a CFL, you know that the light it puts out is subtly different from old-school bulbs. The light has a different tinge of color, and it’s not quite as bright, so the kitchen looks different. The table and chairs and appliances are all in their usual places, but it looks different. This happened when we switched the bulbs in the bedroom, too; in time I got used to it, but the feel of the room has changed a little from when we first moved in.

Sonya and I are wading back into the real world. Each of us has gone back to work. We do laundry, we run the dishwasher, we pay bills and buy groceries. The mechanics of “regular” life are all the same as before, but they feel different now.

The light has changed. And it’s gonna take some getting used to.