High tassels of corn sway in the wind; bean leaves towering up the trellis flutter. I sit back in my lounge chair and linger, my eyes soaking in the view.
I love this view atop the deck my husband built last year. I breathe a sigh of thanks to him for all the labor he put in creating this back yard haven with his own hands.
Beads of perspiration form on my brow. I turn slightly away from the heat, and in my periphery the heart-shaped flower garden catches my eye. This, a memory garden, my mother-in-law built for me in the days after my mom’s death in the spring. Though designed to remember my mom, with every glance I’m reminded of the love I have been blessed with in my husband’s mother as well.
A slight breeze picks up and my head turns back to those corn tassels.
There’s no better view than this, I ponder.
I find this thought profound since my family and I have just returned from a vacation to beautiful Jamaica. After a year of stress and loss in my family, we longed for the proverbial “getaway.”
The palm tree-lined beach and the turquoise Caribbean waters provided the relaxation we sought. Each evening we leisurely dined steps from the sand and followed the sun as it dipped into the ocean. Behind us, the picturesque Blue Mountains framed our view.
After a week I pried myself from this paradise.
Now, not even having completely unpacked, I find myself drawn back to my deck, taking in this familiar view of our back yard.
It isn’t the Caribbean, no. But in a way, it is better. It is home. It represents all our family has labored over this past year — both physically and emotionally.
Getaways are useful and necessary at times. In my case, I needed our getaway to take a breath after a year of loss, to begin making the transition from looking back to looking forward.
But sometimes the greatest result of a getaway comes in the returning, in recognizing the blessings in our own back yards.
I am renewed, ready to make memories with those I care about right here at home.
I note the sun, high in the sky, making the long trek from east to west. Subtly it has already begun changing its path to shorter days, even now in the heat of August.
But as the heat will begin to retreat in the weeks to come, I am reminded that now is the perfect time to take advantage of the abundance of resources right here at home.
Whether it’s hiking up Mount Nebo as the leaves begin to turn or grilling burgers with friends on the patio, I want to take full advantage of my “view” from the back porch — where the scenery at home is always the sweetest.
It's Home
