I sat on the sun torn lawn chair in the cool shadow cast by the trees behind me. One tree next to me housed a family of birds who sang for me while I refreshed myself with a glass of cold water. The intermitent sounds of traffic buzzed by on the country road as cars slowed for the "dead mans curve" near the juction that leads to our neighborhoods private culdrasack. The street includes 7 lots but only 4 houses so it was always a private place. Behind the lots was a large field of uncut grain that reached to the treeline a half a mile away. To one far corner was a small silent lake surrounded by sporatic trees. One large tree had been a casualty of the latest storm and fell over next to the lake. But it has already been chopped up and made into firewood since the last time I saw it. In the other corner was something I had not seen before. A new house was being framed in a plot of land where I had seen families stop to fly kites or launch toy rockets.
The nieghbors across the way where riding around in their family collection of quad off-road vehicles with their little dog chasing them. I've watched them many times through windows or when I was outside but I never really met them. I had spent 4 years of my life here, but now it is just called the parents house. It is beutiful 2 story tutor with 5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, a large kitchen, an attic, a pool, a spa, a large shed, a 2 car garage and an emense lawn outlined by my mothers presious garden. It looks glorious on the outside, but on the inside it is quite the opposite. Still, it was my home and it felt nice to be back here on such a perfect day.
"HAH" My mother eclaimed outloud from the other side of the yard. Instictively I tossed down my glass and got up out of the chair faster then I close non-work related websites when she walks in my office at work. Break time was over so I got up and continued my gardening task. She assured me that my un-scheduled break was ok since we had been doing so much for here all day.
"Tim should be over here to help you finish this in just a minute" she said. My brother, Tim, had been pulling weeds in the fenced in area for most of the day while I was working in other areas. We either get on long well like brothers should, or we don't get along at all like most brothers do. Eventually he came by but I just told him to get a head start on fixing his car problems before it starts to get dark.
Peacefully alone, I continued the motions of gardening work while I drifted off, thinking about what a wonderful day it was and how lucky I am to have lived here. The family dog, Mandy, stood by my side with a oversized tennis ball in her mouth... waiting for me to hurl the ball in a random direction so she could go fetch it. Mandy is a very loving and loyal dog although sadly she is usually left alone for most of the day now that I am not there. She is the fourth and probably last dog our family has owned as long as I have been around.
As time flew by I found my work finished and found mom cleaning up the area in front of the garage. Parked there was my old '91 Toyota Corola. It was the first car I ever drove, but it was the perfect car to learn in since it didn't have the power to exceed the speed limit. This was due to one of the valves in the engine being messed up from the long hauls my dad used to take it on when he would comute 2hrs to work in Los Angeles. The car was in such bad shape that, even though it was an automatic transmission, it would stall when you idled. But recently someone has offerend to purchase it after it has sat in our driveway for over 3 years and will soon be gone from our family. Next to it was the old family mini-van. I still remember the first time I saw that red Arrowstar when it magically apeared to pick me up from soccer practice back when I was in gradeschool. I also remember spending long hours inside that van while we traveled on our many family adventures across the western United States. Now it serves as a delivery vehicle for office and gardening supplies for my mom.
" I have 1 more thing for you guys to do before you are finished" she told me.
"Ok, no problem" I said, expecting it to be an easy clean up task.
"I need you to move the 2 couches out of the padio and into the back yard so we can donate them." she replied as if it where nothing.
"Oh, well great!" I sarcasticly remarked, kicking myself for speaking too soon. I followed my rude words with a smile to show that I was joking and its not that big of a deal.
These couches have been in the family for as long as I can remember. They have been sitting in the patio ever since my parents replaced them in hopes that maybe one day I would take them with me when I moved out. But since I moved in with my brother and he has a huge L-shaped sofa, we didn't need them. The reason I protested moving the couches was not because I was tired and ready to call it quits, but because the padio was over run with rats and wasps from previous seasons and many had used the couches as coazy homes. Luckily they were all gone at this time of year so we just had to deal with the "leftovers" from their ocupation.
After the move was done, Tim went back to working on his car while I decided to brave the pool. I didn't dare look at the temperature of the water, but I felt so dirty from the soil and burnt from the sun. My dad found a swimsuit so I put it on and cannon balled into the deep end without fear. WOW, the water was so cold! But I have been in worse I thought to myself while I scrubbed the dirt from my legs and arms. It reminded me of Scout Camp way back in the youngin days. They had a badge you could earn at the camp if you woke up at dawn, jumped into the freezing lake, and then swam from one side to the other... that was much colder, hehe. Shortly after I jumped into the pool, I decided to leave and welcome the last few minutes of direct sunlight before it disapearned behind the treeline.
After everyone made it back inside and ate dinner me and Tim left for our apartment on the otherside of town. I was tired and aching but I welcomed the over-due excersize and felt good that I helped my mother out. My once paisty white arms were now glowing red and my skin stung whenever I moved, but to me that was a small price to pay for spending the entire day outside in one of the most relaxing, beutiful places I have ever been. We drove past the wildlife refuge on the way home. The water was high and ocupied by a couple of fishing boats and various birds. This is where I have lived for my entire young-adult life, and I guess it really is not so bad here. Do I really want to leave this place and go back to California? If there was only more work here for me and maybe a girl to keep me happy I could stay here forever........
Time will tell.
