It rained most of last night and Lana and I spent a lot of time out on our new deck, listening to the drops on the tin roof and watching the lightning through the dark trees. We lit some candles around, in various glass holders so that the reflection of fire danced on the underside of the tin roof in multicolored hues. It was cool, with a little breeze that occasionally misted a bit of rain across us. It was for pleasures like this that we got this house and had the deck built. I think it earned its cost last night.
I was thinking, too, about how much fun I would have had on such a deck as a kid. It could have so easily become a pirate ship, cutting through southern seas, or the Starship Enterprise with a new Captain. Namely me. Perhaps it could have been a fort in the early American forest with the Iroquoi in the woods all around. Or a raft at drift on the ocean.
I wish we could have had a place like this for my son when he was young, but originally my wife wanted to live in Metairie to be near her family, and later, after she had gotten ill, we never seemed to have the money or the stability to look for such a place. Lana wanted such a place, and she looked until she found it, and with some money that she had inherited she was able to put a downpayment on it and pay for our new and wonderful deck.
And I'm wondering, am I too old to play Starship enterprise? Am I too old to pretend I'm a settler on an alien world? Naw!
I had the same reaction to our backyard up at the lake, with its tree house and play house, and then of course the lake itself. I look at it and think, How I wish I could have given this to my girls when they were little. Maybe we'll have the chance to share the wonder of the country with our grandchildren...
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