Vignette #1

Late Sunday afternoon, I was sitting at my computer minding my own business and sipping my favorite winter drink. I was happily working on some pictures I’d taken that afternoon and then my husband walked into the room.

HIM: Hey, c’mon outside. I’ve gotta show you something.

ME: Oh, ok. (I happily get up, thinking it’s something close by, maybe in the house. So I bring my drink and follow him. He opens the door and heads out. I went back to get the camera because you never know when you’ll need it).

He’s already walked across the driveway and is now heading towards the open part of the property behind the house. I scrinch my nose up and realize that this is one of those things he does and decide to just go along with it. I can always work on my pictures later. So I put down my drink on the front steps and follow him. I see him at the center of the yard and he’s moving from spot to spot, and looking through the trees in the distance. When I catch up to him, he tells me to wait a minute, he’ll find it in a minute. And then he says,

HIM: Ok. Stand here. Try to get as tall as you can and look above that big branch that you can see ahead of you, that one right there.

ME: (I just do whatever he just told me to do. Hopefully this will be over soon).

HIM: Do you see it? Do you see that red sparkling strip?

What he wanted to show me was the river in the distance, sparkling with the glow of the setting sun. You’d never think you could see it from our house, but we sit on a big hill, and sure enough there was the river, albeit a very tiny sliver of it. He wanted to wait until sunset, he said, because it would be glowing with red and easier for me to see.

I thought it was sweet, and thanked him for showing me. I even brought up the fact that when George Washington stood at this very spot, the river was actually wider then and the trees weren’t in the way, and you could see all the tall ships of the British troops who were landing there. Oh yes, very interesting.

And then I turned around to go back inside. And this is what I saw.

And it made me smile.

And I thanked him for showing me these beautiful things.

And he seemed glad.

Respectfully submitted,