Remembering and yearning

Ah yes, the morning has finally arrived when I can sniff the aroma of freshly brewed coffee without retching. Thanks to everyone for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.

When I feel as badly as I did, I wish for my childhood home and the comforts I found there. The gentle tap-tap of the pecan tree’s branch on my bedroom window as it swayed gently in the breeze was always a soothing sound for me as I lay sick in my bed. I miss the faint aroma of my mother’s perfume as she gently laid a cool hand on my forehead, checking for fever.

I crave the wide-open prairies I thundered across on my horse, for the tall prairie grasses that whooshed as we raced through them, striking my bare legs with their tips as if punishing me for invading their privacy. These were the same grasses, on other days that were my best friend as I lay among them by the creek, reading a book, or staring at the clouds. They whispered secrets of times gone past as the wind gently blew through them.

I miss early morning rides. The magical hour before dawn when the earth was silent and seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the sun to rise. The ground emitted a fresh, slightly parched scent, and the dew still clung to the native grasses. My palomino horse, Dewdrop, pranced excitedly, eager to be off and perturbed by the tight rein I held on her until we were out of the corral. I miss the release of her tightly coiled muscles as I loosened the reins. She was my horse, and I knew she would give her life for me, and I for hers. She tolerated no one else on her back but me. We were joined heart and soul; the kind of relationship every cowboy or cowgirl wants with their steed.

Sometimes, on those early morning rides, a coyote appeared, and together we raced through the grasses side by side, until it veered off and disappeared.

It’s been thirteen years since I’ve experienced the comforts of my childhood home, and though some things have changed, I have to look no further then my precious memories to find he comfort and warmth I yearn for.