My Home For Now

My home for now is compact and comfortable.  There are beautiful views out all ten windows, as well as the sky light above the shower that brings the top of the old oak tree into view.  The storage is perfect for my few possessions.

My work table is just large enough to accommodate my creative meanderings.  If I need more space, I move it out my garden door to the shade of the oak.

My donated chairs and my white sofa offer seating for any visitors who come over.  My two-room bathroom serrves as an art station as well as a coffee station.  The door next to the sink leads directly outside to a private walk to the lawn and the oak tree.

Ceramic pots salvaged from my incinerated home have been replanted with succulents and live outside my east windows.  The scorched ceramic frog that belonged to my father and lived in my garden for many decades after he passed was also saved and sits between the pots of succulents.

The tin tub that I remember from childhood and that served as a pool to my kids when they were toddlers, leans up alongside the house, waiting to he returned to a new home in Altadena.

Outside there are lawns, gardens, a large shady porch and a lovely deck that overlooks a pristine pool.  There are bird songs of all kinds and, at this time of year, the honking of low-flying geese.

My closest neighbor lives at the other end of the hall with three large rooms between us.  She is the lovely woman who allowed me to move in after the fire.  We were strangers then and only had the Pasadena Village in common.  We are as close as sisters now.  She has said I can stay for as long as it takes to rebuild my home.

I have all the comforts of home.  I have had parties and dinners and meetings here.  She and I have joined our families for Ffourth of July and for Christmas celebrations.  We’ve entertained Villagers together and  become friends with each other’s friends.

My home for now is the very best a home could be.  My home for now offers me a place to create, to heal and to enjoy my life.  I am filled with gratitude.