Just Another Day in Paradise

I reached over and slapped the snooze button on the alarm next to the bed. Squeezing my eyes shut, I curled into a ball momentarily before stretching straight out. My bones and muscles were stiff and I let out a quiet grunt as I relaxed again. Next to me, my husband rolled over to face me and pulled me close. His arm stayed around my waist as I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes. I gently held his hand and rubbed my thumb over his knuckles while my eyes adjusted to the dark room. Once I could see the dark outlines of the furniture in the bedroom, I squeezed his hand and let go as I swung my legs over the side of the bed.

After my morning routine, I shuffled into the kitchen wrapped in my warmest robe and began the day's pot of coffee. Glancing out the window, I saw the sun's first rays begin to peek over the horizon. The back door creaked as I walked onto the back deck that spread across the length of the house. The deck's stairs angled towards a small green shed that housed all sorts of spades, trowels, mulch, and other such gardening necessities. Trees edged around the cleared 4-acres and filled the remaining 6 acres of property surrounding the house.

Sitting in my rocking chair, I watched the sun rise over the hill, splashing the sky with pinks, purples, and golds that stretched to meet the beginnings of a bright blue sky. Thin white clouds, remnants from the rainclouds the day before, drifted lazily to the east to greet the new day. Light from the sun grazed over the hill and spread towards a beautiful garden, illuminating the wildflowers scattered across the fields and glancing off of bright yellow marigolds and deep purple petunias in their beds. The white shutters on the back windows were open, letting the new morning light stream into the house. Streams of sunlight slid across the bright stone tiles of the kitchen floor where steam rose into the air from the fresh pot of coffee and ran across sleepy eyelids in the master bedroom.

While the sun continued to rise, I made my way back inside, fixed my cup of coffee, and went back into the master bedroom. A clock sat on a nightstand next to the bed read 7:30 a.m. The pinks and purples were beginning to fade; the blue of the sky began to overcome the harsh golden light of the new day. I sat on the edge of the bed and brushed a couple of stray brunette curls away from my husband’s face. I leaned down, gently kissed his forehead, and rested my forehead against his. "Good morning sweetie, it's time to wake up." His eyelids twitched and a soft groan rumbled in his throat as he turned over away from me and hid his head underneath the pillows. Chuckling softly, I pat my husband's shoulder before settling onto the couch on the other side of the room. Comfortably nestled, I sipped my coffee and watched the sun brighten the world outside through the window and mark the beginning of a new day.

Time began to pass quicker as we started on our to-do lists. I worked from home mostly, so after dressing in well-worn jeans and one of my favorite T-shirts, I settled into my home office for the next few hours. Cradling my laptop on my lap, I curled up into a corner of one of the many sitting areas in the office and turned on some soft background music to keep me focused as I began the next section of my book. The clacking of the keyboard keys kept my brain focused and the music allowed the thoughts and ideas in my head to relax from their normal frenzy so I could put them on digital paper. The walls of the office were painted silver blue and were covered in whiteboards, bulletin boards, photos, and random inspiration I had found on the internet, printed, and pinned to the wall. Behind my desk, which I mostly utilized for crafting rather than writing, were my framed college degrees and award plaques. Unlike the organized chaos of the rest of the room, they hung neat and orderly.

The internet inspiration splattered across the walls was mostly in the form of motivational memes and quotes or advice from authors. The papers were pinned haphazardly: some straightened, some intentionally angled, none of them placed in any order that made sense. Most of them I just threw towards a wall and pinned them near where they fell. The bulletin boards and whiteboards were all straightened amongst the chaos and held scattered notes and ideas for the book I was writing. Most of the pictures on the walls I had taken myself: flowers and plants and animals surrounded my writing space giving me a sense of calm.

My stomach began to growl around 1:30 p.m., so I started looking for a stopping point in my writing and, let's be honest, random internet browsing. A few sentences away from the end of a battle scene, I heard soft steps come from the direction of the doorway. My husband stopped behind me, leaned over, and kissed the top of my head. "How's it going, darling?"

"I'm almost done with this scene. Is there food ready for lunch?" I finished the sentence I was typing and looked up into his bright chestnut eyes.

"Are you hungry," he asked with a mischievous grin.

"It's a distinct possibility," I said with a smile.

"Well, then it's a good thing that I went out and got dumplings and fried rice while you were working." He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss before standing straight again. "Finish up quickly, sweetie, food's getting cold."

I met him in the kitchen a few minutes later and made my plate of food. We sat next to each other comfortably in the dining room and bantered with each other throughout lunch. "How's the garden coming along today," I asked as I finished my last couple of bites.

"Very well, very well indeed!" His voice rose with excitement as it always did when talking about his garden. He told me about all of the growth his garden had experienced over the past couple of weeks: what flowers had bloomed, what vegetables had begun to grow and ripen, how the roots of the trees were beginning to dig deeper into the ground and their trunks were thickening. He paused his monologue to finish the last few bites on his plate. "Would you like to go see it tonight?"

"I absolutely would, that sounds delightful!"

I went back into the office and worked until about 6 p.m. With a final stretch, I plugged my computer in by my desk and wandered toward the kitchen to find dinner. There was a note on the table.

Meet me in the wildflowers past the gardens. A picnic awaits!

A smile spread across my face as I quickly slipped on my shoes and walked through the gardens to the patch of wildflowers in the backyard. I strode through the vegetables and the fruit trees and the flower beds taking in all of their beauty. Beyond them was a hill, and at the base of that hill laid a long quilted blanket surrounded by candles and wildflowers. Laid out on the blanket was a simple picnic of fruit slices, berries, and sandwiches. Standing nearby looking over the hill was my husband, candles and the slowly descending sunlight glowing around him. He turned around when he heard me approach and he smiled wide as he saw me. “Glad you could make it!” He walked over to me and wrapped me in a hug.

“It looks wonderful dear!” With a quick kiss, we walked over to our picnic among the flowers and enjoyed the spread before us. When we were mostly finished with our picnic I leaned back on my elbows and began to watch the sunset. My husband leaned back next to me and we watched the dark reds and oranges color over the blues of the sky.

Before darkness completely overtook the sky, we packed up the food and candles and took them back inside the house, then we went back outside to the blanket and laid back to watch the stars begin to twinkle against the sky. We were out there stargazing for hours, snuggled together and talking about anything and everything until we were too tired to keep our eyes open. We packed up the blanket and went back to the house where we collapsed in our bed and fell asleep holding each other.

I woke up to bright sunlight hitting the back of my eyelids. I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed them open with my fist. The clock next to the bed read 9 a.m. Thank goodness it's my day off...

I curled up and stretched out, feeling my muscles twinge as I rolled the details of my dream around in my head. It was so realistic and lovely. Maybe I can plan a picnic with him for dinner tonight if he's not too busy. A smile parted my lips as my husband rolled over and put his arm around me, pulling me closer to his side. I snuggled in and laid there with him for about an hour more before getting up and getting ready for the day.

After my morning routine was finished, I went and pulled on my robe over my basketball shorts and T-shirt and went into the kitchen. I fixed myself a cup of coffee and a bagel and sat down at the table. When the bagel was finished off, I began to sort through the bills stacked on the table: utilities, credit cards, student loans, doctor's visits, vet bills. Mrrooww! The calico cat wound her way around my legs, reminding me that I hadn't fed her yet this morning. "Sorry about that Sushi, let's get you fed." I pat her on the head and went to pour food into her bowl. Sushi purred as she began to eat her breakfast. When I stood back up, I saw the dishes piled in the sink from the past week. I let out a sigh and decided I would take care of it after lunch. I sat back down at the table, looked out the window, and sipped on my coffee. Insects buzzed around the garden outside and the rays of the sun reflected through the slow-moving clouds.

Just another day in paradise.