Do Not Seek The Treasure

I watched a movie once where the characters did - plane spotting. I think they laid down on the runway and watched as planes took off or landed right over them. That's about all my memory will give up on that - plane spotting.

In the morning I do my own plane spotting and it is a much more safer game than the fools in the movie played. I sit outside in the early morning twilight - when traffic has not begun to snarl and send flumes of noxious gas into the air that eventually I will breathe in my sickly lungs, Before the sirens start and the neighbors awaken and add noise to the stillness. Surrounded by darkness with a few birds chattering - me alone with the sky, half a moon and twinkling rhinestone stars. The sweet aroma of jasmine is almost but not quite overpowering.

My old faithful fleece robe keeps the chill off as I sit and watch the morning procession of planes. In silence they slip into the darkened sky heading somewhere for something - I'm thinking for fun, relaxation and adventure. I'm jealous. I want to trade places with them - or do I?

Wondering where their travels will take them and who are they going with. Who will they see upon arrival? Or what? Mountains, the sea, the wild open land could be their stepping grounds to freedom. Freedom from the daily grind of life itself.

They pop up into the sky like specs or skeeters and slowly disappear over the gulf or across the state. And I become the plane spotter and write their journey inside my head. I weave a story that makes me smile and makes me want to be sitting in that plane with them. But instead I am safely tucked away in my wicker chair with red striped cushions - watching and dreaming about where they are going and what they will do.

A plane spotter filling her imagination with excitement and wonder enjoying the early morning quiet. Drinking coffee with cream wrapped snugly in a soft warm robe surrounded by the beauty of the beginning day. Another time another movie -'Do not seek the treasure', plays inside my morning head fog. I don't seek the treasure because I find the treasure right before my eyes and if by chance I don't I create it in my mind.

Staycations

What is that strange word? Staycations. Some would like for us to think it's all about staying green, helping the local economy, stress free vacations and enjoying nature - and it is true. But the true meaning of staycations = we can't afford the gas to drive anyplace, the airline tickets are too high and our income has not increased.
So, we opt to take a vacation at home or at a local park. We can have a barbecue, take a family hike around the park, ride our bikes on a trail or lounge lazily in the backyard hammock. Very little investment is spent on these staycations and the stress - well - the bike has a flat tire, my hiking boots are moldy and beef prices are beyond my means. Hello - there is still stress on a staycations.
We need to make the best of our staycations. Pretend your backyard sits along the Florida Keys and your pool boy will be there at a moments notice and the gourmet chef is your significant other. I am all for relaxing times at home but I still want the adventure the intrigue that comes from visiting new places NOT the local doggy park. Watch where you step.
Staycations are here to stay for many of us. I will get lost in a great book, prop my feet up and drink my margarita out of a green plastic cup and pretend I'm in a tropical paradise.

Silence

The company has left and all is quiet. The cat has come out of her hiding place, the dog has been allowed to return to the house and the dust is settling. Piles of wet towels, linen and dirty dishes stare silently at me. The sofa sleeper and the cots have been put away along with extra pillows, blankets and sleeping bags.

We are left with memories and photographs.