It was an eerie drive to work this morning. I quietly packed up my bag for my 12 hour day. I left the house at around 5:30 AM. It had snowed and the only stirring in my neighborhood at that time on a Sunday was the crunch of my boots on the fresh powder.
Some people are horrified that when you work in a hospital most of the staff has to work every other weekend. Me? Other than missing my kids, I don't mind it so much. The commute is effortless, almost enjoyable and the day meanders on, even with it's emergencies. Administration is tucked in at home so it's really mostly the workers running things - and that goes pretty smoothly.
I warmed up my car, which always makes me feel like a grown up. Most days I'm just winging it - the adult thing. I go outside 15 minutes before I leave and fire up the Toyota. Today I cleared the snow from my car and in a gesture of neighborly love I cleared Tricia the neighbors car as well. I breathed in the winter air. I never cover my face in the winter - not even as a child when I would ski - I love the feeling of that frosted air filling my lungs. It feels so...alive. I've never smoked a day in my life so my lungs are, I believe, in pretty good shape. I've been trying to train myself to understand that when I have livestock, it will be mornings such as this that I will brace the cold to feed them.
I settled into my car, always grateful for the economical reliable ride. Quietly I pulled out of my driveway; the snow giving way softly under my tires. The streets were black and wet, thankfully though, not icy.
I drove through the old town of Franklin, past the strip malls that have replaced farms and raw forest in the last 40 years. I'm always warmed by the charm of what this town once was. Maybe I was feeling nostalgic? I had a very broken sleep last night. Family stuff. I'm certain the draining drama of it will pass. The excitement of it had left me a bit slow on the take, almost dull. I was happy to be a mere observer to my morning, grateful for it's routine.
The world had a somewhat deserted feel, save a plow here and there in an empty parking lot. Heaven forbid consumers could not make the shopping today. It's Sunday - the big sale day. I was struck by the flood lights in the parking lots, maybe it was the atmosphere...the wet air. The lights extended into the sky, the misty spires like huge upturned flashlights. A half moon, made unnoticeable by their garish facade, hung above it all.
Another mining town unfolded after that, the main street of Ogdensburg always appearing like a slapped together movie set. all the small town businesses are represented in a short straight line; a deli, a school, a gas station, a restaurant etc. More farmland gone and another shopping nightmare brought me to the highway turnoff. I was one of perhaps 3 cars on the road toward the city I work in. The highway - of all places - offered a dark stretch free from strip malls and unnatural light for a while.
I was able to be tired, alone, and passively wonder, as the winter trees that resembled skeletons stretched toward the inky sky, what life would be like if we only had the moon to answer to...a fire to build...a stew to cook...and babies of hope to hold close.
