Little Slice of Heaven

I have always been an outdoor person.  I love to camp; love to garden; love to travel and see the great sights that this gorgeous country has to offer.  Once upon a time, I was an expert in all of those endeavors.  Old age now limits me, but my heart is still outside. 

In 1992, still freshly injured from a divorce, I bought this little house-on-a-slab in Plainfield, Indiana.  'Tis a "national home"--a late 60s version of a pre-fab subdivisional place to live.  Small by most standards.  This particular house had two features that attracted me:  a half-bath that most of the homes in the subdivision didn't have, and a covered patio outside the back door by the kitchen.  A lot has gone on in this house since those first years, but one thing has not changed:  I enjoy being outside on the patio.

The yard is small.  The flowers don't always bloom when I want them to.  The privacy fence blocks views to the street, which means that I can go out there in my nightgown and not worry about who sees me.  I don't have a mountain view or an oceanfront panorama or a desert scape to look at.  What I have is a tiny little back yard with plants that I planted...and critters that come around to steal the peanuts that I put out for them.  From my patio, I can watch the habits of ants and spiders, check the population of earwigs and lightning bugs, observe the robin parents feed their hungry young'uns, watch the spring and fall migration of birds, and revel in the simple things.  In the early mornings, the yard almost sounds like a rain forest of bird calls.  I can identify most of them!  I never, ever get bored with it.  I could yearn for more, but this is what life has given me, and I am grateful for every moment of what I have. 

I guess what I am saying is that my little "slice of heaven" is pretty modest.  It ain't much, but it's all I've got, and I will not apologize for the fact that it may not meet the standards of others who have more funds than I to carry on in a richer standard.  Heaven isn't a place--it's a concept.  I'm happy.  Hope that's enough!