The Planning Was Done

The planning was done.  Everyone knew what to do.  Now it was just a matter of following the itinerary and letting go, of letting others do what needed to be done.

She took a deep breath, let it out and studied her face in the mirror.  The last couple of weeks had been non-stop craziness, with last minute changes, last minute updates and everyone wanting her decision on the smallest, inconsequential item.  For the moment she was alone in the dressing room, soaking in the stillness, before donning her gown and stepping out into the limelight of her wedding day.  

Early Morning

Up at five, dressed and ready to leave by six she stopped to look around the apartment feeling as if she were forgetting something.  Her brows furrowed and her lips pursed while she tapped her chin with her finger.

‘Hmmm.’

Down the hall a faint creak was heard and she tilted her head to listen, not sure if she heard something or if it was just the building making its old building noises.  A random thought wondering why she had moved into an apartment where a murder had been committed meandered its way through her mind.

‘Ah, yes, cheap rent!’ 

Frost In The Air

Late in the afternoon as the sun sank toward the horizon a soft zephyr wound its way through the bare branches setting the last couple of leaves to dancing.  A chill mist in the air sent a shiver down her back as she stepped outside.  She paused to look around in the growing twilight, breathing in the scent of damp leaves and feeling the nip of frost in the air.

‘Winter isn’t far off.’  She thought.  ‘It’s a good thing we finished cleaning up the yard and gardens.  The only thing left to do is dig out the snow blower.’  

Grandma's House

Okay, I have been having way too much fun lately.  Four days a week my nine-month granddaughter stays with me during the day.  Our days are filled with the wonder and giggles of a little one learning about the world.  From the excitement of sending the little red car zooming off her high chair tray and onto the floor to endless, full belly laughter, during a rousing game of peek-a-boo she is a delight.  This week she is perfecting the roll.  I will head to the kitchen to get something, turn around and there she is halfway across the floor.  Her whole face lights up with a smile when I turn to look and she laughs before tucking her head and rolling again.  So much fun bundled up in a tiny being, so many wonderful moments shared, moments of joy and laughter to carry me through the weekend when she home with her parents.

An empty, quiet house was nice, but the laughter of children fills up more than a house it also fills up the heart.  So with only a day to myself my two older granddaughters came to stay with us for the weekend.  One is eight and the other is six.  They brought their unique brand of energy and fun to our house, so I decided to up my game.  With Halloween just days away and a yard decorated with pumpkins, ghosts and skeletons I put together a treasure hunt.  The kind where you are given a clue, which leads you to another and so on until the last clue, leads you to the treasure.  We spent the day outside in the sunshine, the girls having been told the decorations were off limits because of the hunt they would have later valiantly followed the rules letting the anticipation build until grandma and grandpa could not hold back and the first clue was delivered.  As I suspected the hunt lasted all of five minutes, the clues were easy and the children very clever, but the joy and shear glee of running from place to place, of thinking and solving and looking, and finding the prize lasted the rest of the night and into the next day and will no doubt last a lifetime with each time it is called up from memory and shared once again.

Fully Awake

I woke up feeling sluggish and fuzzy headed.  For a second I wasn’t sure where I was, then my brain fired up, registering the feel and scent of a down filled pillow and the feel of silky smooth sheets on the bed.  Morning sounds of stirring roommates and soft music playing filtered in and I inhaled deeply, stretching in the luxury of sleeping in on a weekend morning.  At the end of the workweek there was nothing better.  I smiled, my eyes closed, delaying the moment of being fully awake.

“Excuse me sir, are you interested in buying the bed?”

Settling In

At the end of the day, as the household settled down, a quiet seeped in.  It followed the lady of the house as she walked down the hall to her bedchamber.  She did not notice as she climbed into bed and nestled into her covers.

From the living room she could hear the television, a faint hum, distant and muted.  Her thoughts slowed and her limbs grew heavy preparing for sleep to take over.

A sharp bark brought her awake, eyes wide and staring at the intruder fluttering overhead.  It swooped around the ceiling, a small, dark bat seeking escape.