Last night the moon was so unbelievably bright that the sky itself looked dark and void of even stars. It was nice to know that, even though at this moment in time with neither of my kiddo's even close to home, we were under the same bright moon. Basking in its glory.
The week has been insane, running all over, in and out of different trainings, struggling to keep everything in balance while not pushing my slowly returning health. It's been insane.
The rain this week has the grass inches higher than it should be, the ground soggy and mushy. At one point during the week AT&T took the liberty of completely tearing up chunks of my front yard yet again. I guess I will need to call them, because they sure didn't bother to put in any grass seed or sod to repair the massive damage they have done. I am not sure why I am even worried or concerned. It seems every two years they come in and destroy the work we've put into repairing the previous damage. No warning, just appear and dig up the yard, put up bright orange fencing, do their work, and haphazardly put the yard back together. It's normal. Mowing today, is going to be an unpleasant chore.
With the sun bright in the sky yesterday, Hubby took me out for dinner last night. Of course with the sun shining we couldn't go in the Escape... we took advantage of the beautiful clear sky, the cool temperatures (no I am not complaining about 70's in June - do you think I am crazy?). When you are riding on the back of the Harley, the best route to any location is never direct. And we took full advantage of it.
It's really almost a straight shot from our house to one of our favorite restaurants hop on 159 and zip straight down past a few towns and you arrive in Smithton. It's really just a wide spot in the road, not much bigger than a minute. And it is one of our favorite spots. The Smithton Family Restaurant is just off 159, you can't miss it. And last night was all you could eat walleye. Well, I evidently can't each much, they serve so much, but it was worth the ride to get there. When two people can eat dinner, leave full and not have spent $20 including tip... and it was delicious. Guess you really can't complain.
Leaving dinner, Hubby decided to take me exploring through the farm land surrounding the Kaskaskia River. As we came up on the bridge over it, despite on-going repairs, it was beautiful The area is rather suppressed economically. That beautiful meandering river runs to and fro and often wreaks havoc as it does. It often floods, sometimes miles of farm land end up submerged. The blessing following those floods is that deep rich soil.
As we were riding along the smell was so refreshing. That powerful, earthy scent that comes from rich, dark soil, full of nutrients. I wanted to get off the bike and dig my fingers into it. The urge to garden bubbling up from somewhere deep inside my soul.
The farm lands were so wonderful as we zipped past at a whopping 45 mph. We are "put, putters". Many other bikes blew past us, hurry to get to the next place. Missing the beauty that surrounds them. The fields of amber grains waving gently as we passed, made it very easy to understand the inspiration of Katherine Lee Bates to write what became the song America the Beautiful. Tucked in around rolling hills filled with corn stalks and soy beans, all in various stages of growth.
At one point we drove past a field that was freshly mowed. I don't know what was mowed, but the sweet, fresh scent whipped me back in time and place to Erie. I always connect that sweet smell to home. I loved the smell after Papa would finish mowing. It means home, it means family, it means love. I was so thankful for finding it last night.
Those few hours between dinner and sunset were perfect, there has been so much lately, almost too much. Both of us have been stressed, the rain has prevented rides, and we have been trying to do simply too much. That ride was not only welcome, but needed. The gifts we found along the way were priceless.
Today will be another busy one. The girls are coming over for a bit - they have to work tomorrow so are going to visit with Pops today for Father's Day. We are packing, as we should get our keys on Wednesday. And tonight Hubby is finally going to get to enjoy his birthday present.
I bought him tickets to see A Prairie Home Companion. We will stop and have dinner before we go, and after 40 years of listening in on the radio, he is actually going to see Garrison Keillor live. He was listening to NPR this morning and heard them announce that it is sold out and better yet that they will live on air during the show. I would say he is pretty excited. Mr. Keillor is into his 70's and has tried to retire several times, so this could be his last chance to go. I think it is probably the best birthday present I have ever given him. I am thankful to be able to.
So tonight as we visit Lake Wobegon and marvel at Guy Noir misadventures, Hubby's smile is what I am going to be watching for... He needs this, I need this... we both need a small break from reality... tomorrow it can come back.
No comments:
Post a Comment