07 March 2008

Room With a View (Triangle, Fanfare, Cafe, Firecracker, Obvious)

I lie in bed and through my window I watch a palm tree gently swaying in the morning breeze. I could describe the scene in more obvious terms based on my locale: the palm tree is doing a lazy merengue as the world is stretching and yawning, shaking their heads to clear them from the fog of last night's cuba libres. I am personally trying to wake up enough to head to the panaderia for a croissant canela and a cafe con leche.

I think back to other views I've had through bedroom windows. Some good, some not so good, and some absolutely fantastic.

From my childhood window I could see the giant live oak tree with the treehouse my brother built. Well, it wasn't really a tree house... more a collection of salvaged boards and tetanus wielding nails rammed into the poor tree's flesh. I learned to climb trees there, to no fanfare whatsoever. My brothers taught me how to climb up, but not how to descend. An easy way to get rid of a pesky kid sister.

From my college dorm room window I could see my boyfriend's dorm. He was in plain view one evening meeting my best friend to go study while I recuperated from knee surgery. I had no idea at that point I was an unwitting victim of a love triangle. It was my very own, low budget "Rear Window" of sorts. I got to witness two people I cared about stab me in the back... or front, as the case may be.

In Grad school, I moved in with a friend who had chosen his neighborhood based on the fact that he was 6'4" and 220. I chose his neighborhood based on my pitiful budget. There were nightly sound effects perfect for the evening news. I would lie in bed and hope and pray it was firecrackers. I never had the nerve to look out my bedroom window.

In the first house I bought, my window looked out to my backyard and a lovely little forest of pine, dogwood, and oak trees. I loved that bedroom. I can picture us lying in bed - my dog, my cat, my husband, and I, talking about what we wanted from life. Well, the dog and cat weren't talking really - they usually snored. That view was so beautiful, I never did put up curtains.

I don't care what the view is from my next bedroom window. I want a comfortable bed - one that is big enough for me, my children, a dog, and maybe a cat. I want a new capuccino maker so I can sip cafe con leche while I lie in that bed. We're moving in a couple of months. I'll let you know what my view is after I make my bed and lie down in it.

~hpt is currently living in the tropics, waiting to move to rural Tennessee. She has great hopes for what she will see out her new bedroom window.

No comments: