the driveway

Even though it was a cold blustery day, it became the hour to do my walking and I knew that the driveway was patiently waiting for me. This is the driveway that goes from our street, across the dam of the pond and to the house in which MIL resides – this driveway is where I do my walking – 2.8 miles of it at present. I had dressed warmly to maintain core temperature, so with my recorder in one hand and staff in the other, I stepped out smartly to do what must be done.

YD and all of her crew had driven in to see my MIL just as I was starting the walk – she is aka Mema to her grands and great-grands. By the time I reached the house they had all gone inside for the visit so I continued my efforts. About the third lap, SSIL and the three small boy gruntmonkeys had come back out to ride their bikes on the driveway – their driveway at home is too short and too steep.

The two older boys are still riding with training wheels and the youngest was on a tricycle but none of these things hindered their efforts at having a great time on their little straddle buggies. I continued my walk and enjoyed watching them expend massive amounts of energy at each passing. This expenditure of energy was the major goal of the parents because the young ones had been pent inside to long. Although runny noses were the rule, they really had a blast on the driveway.

I did notice during the walk that the water level of the pond is now up to the point of all the islands disappearing under the water. There are still a few stumps visible but about another foot of water would cover them as well. The young ones were all back inside by the time I finished my walk and I stopped in to visit for a while with them before they departed for home.

Just outside the garage of MIL and near the driveway stands a post that is about 5 feet tall. Atop this is mounted a fairly large bell – about 15 inches across. The original purpose of the bell was to alert its hearers of mealtime but at this location it has mostly been for the entertainment of grands and great-grands, with even the smallest ones being held up to ring the device.

At the base of the pole are two cement rabbits and a duck of like material. These are painted in the basic colors of the live animals they represent, although they are a bit faded now. All three of these imitation animals go by the rule that says an object at rest tends to remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. The only forces that have affected them are those of weather and the occasional pushing over by the little ones.

The scene is a peaceful one but this would be fake peace since they are fake animals. We do seem to have a lot of fake peace in our world it would appear, at least according to the news and even my own observations. The only real peace in our world comes through Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that He made for the forgiveness of all the wrong stuff we have done. I choose the real, daily. ec