This is my dream – beautiful boat sailing into the clear blue warm waters of the South Pacific. Reality is a little bit different, on more than one count. Our sailboat came to us “free” by way of an acquaintance of an acquaintances friends brothers girlfriends nephew. It was thrilling! I’ve always wanted a sail boat and my husband could hardly argue with “free”, right? It just needed a little work, just a little – couldn’t he see that? It wouldn’t cost much at all and in two weeks in would be done and in the water. What a deal! In the months that have past since we legally signed the adoption papers from a guy who could hardly wait to sign it over, our lovely lady has sat at the marina, in dry dock. She looks less than dreamy, her worn old sails wound tightly around the boom, a boom that houses hornets we can’t seem to get rid of. Not that the entire interior was dry rot, just about ninety percent of it I’d say. And it would have been fine without the exterior paint job and new stripping, it just wouldn’t have been quite so cute,…
Month: September 2011
Slipping Through the One Year Mark
Mom died a year ago. Actually it’s been a year and a few weeks. The date came and went, slipped by without anyone falling apart. Thank God for memories. If I closed my eyes and spoke with her, my imagination would put me sitting side by side on the glider at the lake. She would be speaking clearly, the stroke not yet having arrived and confiscated her life. We would be discussing the kids and she would be reminding me to pick my battles carefully and not make an issue out of the small things. I miss her. They say making it through the one year mark is huge, the sailing should be smooth from then on. I hope “they” are right. Yet somehow, as time goes by, I feel her absence more and more. Well, we can’t expect these fragile bodies to last forever, right? I mean, death is a part of life. It’s so simple, so matter of fact, yet for most of us, so hard to accept. The world marches on, with or without us, proving just how insignificant we are, how precious life is, and how important it is to live each day to the fullest.…
By The Light of the Moon
It was about midnight when the light of the moon woke me. A flashlight in my face wouldn’t have been brighter or more affective. We’d left the doors open to our bedroom deck because it had been so warm when we’d gone to bed about two hours earlier. At the time, I’d looked for the moon but couldn’t find it although an abundance of brilliant stars dotted the blanket of blackness overhead. The street lights across the bay twinkled as if they too were stars fallen from heaven. I heard something splash in the water, maybe a fish jumping, or a seal. The sound of the splash echoed off the still waters and a ripple traveled into the moon light. Sweet salt water permeated the heavy air. I’ve always thought if we could bottle that smell we’d make a fortune. Moon light was cast all the way across the bay. In my mind I could see a ship slowly passing by or a whale gently breaching by the light of the moon. But nothing actually did. There was only stillness and deep quiet. Occasionally, a loon would call out and be answered by another far away. I saw something…
Chocolate and Sleep
Two things I just can’t get enough of; chocolate and sleep. I have recently become a closet connoisseur of fine dark chocolates, hiding them in my car or in my backpack. On those busy days when two in the afternoon rolls around and I feel myself slipping, I sneak a nibble or three and am energized for a few more hours. Then it happens again, around four. What’s another little bite? I’d prefer to have a little chocolate with a nap, like fries with a burger. A few small nibbles on the chocolate bar, slowly biting down on the solid chunk of heaven, making sure all the taste buds have a chance to revel before chewing and swallowing. Then, I’d curl up with my favorite quilt and softest pillow and close my eyes for an hour or so. Dogs next to me snoring softly, sunshine peaking through the windows. A little breeze rustling the leaves. Heavenly. If we don’t have our dreams, what do we have? I think this is what I’ll request for my birthday next year; the whole package and maybe throw in a massage or a pedicure. Chocolate goes really well with those, too. I’ve decided…