Journeys Await

  

     Chicago is quite the busy place; people running, walking to and fro. Every now and then I wonder if I’ll ever get used to living in Illinois, but then the aromas of all the different restaurants on 79^th St. overwhelm my senses and I come to the realization that not only do I love Chicago, but I’m also hungry.

     Now to choose, what shall I eat, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Puerto Rican, Italian? There are so many choices, but I go straight for the most affordable; besides I really do love Chinese cuisine. I order the number 3-dinner special, plus a mango smoothie and eat and drink slowly, savoring every bite and sip.

     The day has been busy and I’m so tired, but I can’t leave without visiting North Avenue beach on Lake Shore Dr. I lay on a bench with my bag for a pillow; my legs drawn up and crossed. Big sigh! Oh yeah, being lazy for a bit makes me feel so relaxed and the pressure I’ve been feeling behind my eyeballs all day, slowly fades away and I feel the warmth of the sunset on my face. Forcing my eyes open, I find that God has once again, painted the evening sky with colors too incredible to describe...ah, such a feast for the eyes.

     Running to catch the train, for a second I stand totally still under the bridge and my inner child shouts just to hear the echo and laughs gleefully.

     The train finally arrives; not many folks get off the train, but a swarm of worn out folk get on; we can hardly wait to get home. I find myself a comfy seat and sit quietly until everyone is settled; setting my phone alarm I snooze for a bit.

     The alarm awakens me and once again the child in me takes over. Everything is lit up in the City of Lights and it kind of feels like Christmas. Pressing my face against the window I smile with joy.

     Chicago is a wonderful place to visit and work in, but I love being home. I unlock my bike and pedal down Galena Blvd. The Paramount is all lit up again for one of its Broadway productions and for a moment, I wonder what it might be like to actually visit Broadway.

     Shaking my head, I remind myself that tomorrow will be another busy day. I’ll visit the company’s bookstore and hopefully gain some much needed knowledge before leaving for Austin next week. I’ll be visiting the first of my company’s branches; my last stop will be Spain. I’m tired out just thinking about it!

     I’ve never really done much traveling; never really wanted to, although I’ve been to Puerto Rico, Texas and Wisconsin. Is that considered traveling? Nah, I didn’t think so! Now the only place I’ve ever really wanted to visit was Seattle. It may not be exotic, but I’ve always wanted to visit the Space Needle.

     The train passing overhead, the lights twinkling all up and down New York, and Broadway and the Mexican corn truck passing by remind me that tomorrow is another work day. I have to go home, make my lunch for tomorrow and jump into bed. Still smiling I pedal faster.

   

♪♫  ♪♫  ♪♫  ♪♫  ♪♫  ♪♫

Written for: Short Story Slam Week 27: Locations and Sensations at:

http://bluebellbooks.blogspot.com/2012/09/short-story-slam-week-27-locations-and.html

and for:

Hyde Park Thursday Poets Rally Week 73 at:

http://promisingpoetsparkinglot.blogspot.com/2012/09/hyde-park-thursday-poets-rally-week-73.html

Appreciate the opportunity. Thank you!

Heart’s Harvest

     The roosters had started crowing early this morning; well maybe it just seemed that way because I’d gone to bed late. Those darned chickens had been causing a ruckus and Noah and I had discovered a fox attempting to break into the hen house. We’d chased it away and then after checking the girls, I discovered that Noah’s part time worker had used regular wire instead of the galvanized hardware cloth I’d bought for that particular project. Brad’s mistake had almost cost me my sweet girls and my best egg layer, Mildred.

     Anger had me vibrating and I could actually feel my hands shaking. My husband and I had spent the next five hours putting the galvanized cloth in place to keep out any other predators. It was a temporary measure until everything could be done properly in the morning light.

     I’d been running my mouth because I was so angry and was just surprised Noah hadn’t chucked me in the pond. I was kind of getting used to it. It wasn’t his fault and I’d wanted to apologize to him, but since I was still angry it wouldn’t have sounded sincere; I decided to wait until morning.

     God had gifted us with another beautiful day. Morning had come with breathless beauty once again. Our bedroom window was open and faced the rising sun and while Peppy and Miguel did their crowing, I took in a great, big breath of the fresh air that gently drifted in our window. As the rising sun touched the flowers, trees and grass it brought everything to startling life. The colors of the flowers; the beautiful reds, blues, violets and the eye-popping yellows and oranges just fairly shouted, “Look at us!” The yellow and green zucchini’s, the rich, red, succulent tomatoes and bright green skinned watermelons tempted me to bite into them and the water in the pond sparkled like cool, wet diamonds as it reflected the sun, while the soft sounds of the chickens, roosters and cows soothed me.

     The smells were amazing every day, but oh my, in the early mornings, just as the sun was rising and with the wind blowing, the smells were so wonderfully vibrant and they would flow gently over me and kiss me good morning.

     My happy sigh was so big it shook the whole bed and Noah’s smooth arm came around me and hugged me to him tightly. Turning, I buried my face in his chest and mumbled, “ I’m sorry.” A sudden chuckle brought my eyes up to his and I found them sparkling with laughter and love.

     “My love, you are amazing! I’ll never grow tired of living my life with you. You make each day so exciting,” he chuckled again and rubbed his hairy chin over my cheeks.

     My face reddened and his grin grew bigger, then he rolled over and swatted my hind end, “Come on it’s time to get up. It’s gonna be super busy today. I’ll make sure the hen’s garden run is put together right and then I’ll join you and our momma’s so’s we can pick all them tomatoes.” The day passed a mite too slowly for me; I really wanted to see my Noah’s face. He reminded me a bit of a young, handsome Grizzly Adams.

     The time finally came to pick tomatoes and you’d a thought it was a party. Lots of family members and friends; adults and children had shown up to help and we all worked hard and steady under the hot sun. Every once in a while I’d hear a giggle and I knew another tomato had disappeared down somebody’s gullet, but I cannot tell a lie I enjoyed a bite or two myself.

     An hour or so towards sunset I heard another sound I really enjoyed. I knew momma would soon be singing one of the many songs I’d grown up with whenever we worked in the fields. My momma’s sweet, husky voice called the kids over to her and they sat by the truck with cool watermelon juice and she began to sing, “Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Every day with Jesus, I love Him more and more. Jesus saves and keeps me and He’s the one I’m waiting for. Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.”

     We finally finished, but left enough on the vines for the neighbors or any visitors that would be stopping by tomorrow to pick. Noah set up a nice little bonfire area, brought out the grill and we sat around and sang more songs and reminisced about our younger days. As usual my big brother Abel brought up the first time Noah had thrown me in the pond; not something I wanted to remember.

     “Hey Abe!” Noah called out, “don’t leave right away, cuz I’m gonna punch your lights out for messing with my pearl!” Everyone laughed, but Abe had gotten the hint and shut his mouth right quick.

     I loved sunrise, but sunset was pretty special too; here surrounded by family and friends, feeling pleasantly tired after a hard days work, my husband’s arms around me, the smells of the night and the occasional soft moo of the cows, the chirp of crickets and the giggling and laughter of kids I was content. I sighed big and my husband’s arms tightened around me and I felt his kiss on my head as I joined in the singing.

This is written for: Bluebell Books Twitter Club Thursday Short Story Slam Week 26:

http://bluebellbooks.blogspot.com/2012/08/bluebell-books-twitter-club-thursday.html

also shared with: Thursday Poets’ Rally Week 72 (September 5 -12, 2012) at:
http://promisingpoetsparkinglot.blogspot.com/2012/09/thursday-poets-rally-week-72-september.html

Thanks for the opportunity!