Work Route

This morning, at about the same time i USED to leave the house to drive to work, i filled my coffee mug and took my binoculars and camera, told my cat, "I'll be right back," and off i went! i followed the same road i took for many years going back and forth to the hospital where i worked--and from where i retired 11 months ago to the day!

my intent was to see the farm field that this time of year was always SOLID WHITE with THOUSANDS of snow geese--no exaggeration! i used to pull over and roll down the windows, brave the cold air, just so i could listen to the cacophony of that many "voices" all trying to outdo each other. one morning in fact, one of the young docs was actually concerned when he saw me sitting on the side of the road, window down; he thought i was stuck and needed assistance. i thanked him for his thoughtfulness and explained that i was just enjoying the snow geese, even if it meant i'd be late for work that morning. he later thanked ME, cause he said he drove right by it every morning and never even SAW them!

well, my timing this morning was not good, as i saw not one snow goose, turned around and drove back home. but as my daughter pointed out, it felt good to go that same route with the exception of the liberty of turning around and going back home! yes! that DID feel real good!

i experienced a lot of different feelings though, on that round trip. so much had changed, yet so much was the same. two different sections of new homes have not only been built but also inhabited in 11 short months. a new traffic light had been put up; the pot holes on the roads, which i knew perfectly how to avoid, were gone and the roads all repaved smooth. the huge pumpkin patch was now a cornfield, but the field of "baby trees" as i called them, were still there. and the speeders were still there! (too bad they repaved the road--just makes it easier to use it as a racetrack. the guy behind me velcro-ed himself to my rear bumper for a while this morning, pushing me to 5 then 10 miles over the speed limit, until i realized it and then slowed back to the legal 50, but then, on a SOLID line, with traffic coming, he zipped around me...only to have to stop at the same traffic light ahead as each of us anyway.)

driving the speed limit on the way to work was always a challenge, i have to admit; especially on that back road through the farmland areas that i always traveled to work. i purposely avoided the main highway because there were COMPLETE maniacs on THAT road! at least the traffic was lighter and the maniacs fewer on the road i took. but i'm thankful that i no longer have to be part of that misnomer: rush-hour. oh, truth be told: i am SO THANKFUL for MANY things, as i look back over the past 11 months. God is SO good! His blessings are MANY!

oh! and, although i missed taking my photographs this morning of snow geese, i came home, poured a hot cup of pumpkin spice coffee, put a slice of cinnamon bread in the toaster, looked in the morning paper for my daily crossword puzzle--and there it was! a photo of the field FILLED WITH SNOW GEESE on the same farm! JOY!