#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream

Leaf Joy

“Peace — that was the other name for home.”

— Kathleen Norris

I walk up the driveway to the river where the path starts along the waterfront. Where the leaves have begun to brighten and color in front of the blue river. Last night they projected rain. The weather people. Wrong, at my home. A dry night. I need to do some watering, I think, but all I have time to water is Lilia’s hibiscus in its pot. The grass is overgrown. Frank’s tractor has been in trauma recovery with the fixers who lament the wear and tear Frank puts on this hearty machine. I have some landscaping I want to do, after the tractor comes home. Wave misses the tractor. We all miss the tractor. I am going to visit my aunt, so I take a short walk and swim, pack lunch, and hit the road. I am taking my aunt furniture shopping for two new pieces for her residence. She knows what she wants and there is the store she wants nearby as well. I am so happy to see her on this sunny day. And with the help of a very nice salesman, she orders exactly what she wants. It will be a few weeks for delivery, and it’s hard to wait. I have been listening to a fabulous, riveting, amazing memoir published in 2022 by Javier Zamora, Solito. Ugh, I cannot stop listening. It’s so involving. A memoir of his migration at age 9 from El Salvador through Guatamala and Mexico into the US. Heart-rending and eye-opening. The voice and experience of the child, despite it being written in adulthood. What a fight for survival. I will finish it soon and I don’t want to!