In fact, we were so poor that we entertained ourselves by playing ping pong and pool in our apartment complex's rec room as we could not afford a TV or cable.
I was waiting tables full time and going to school full time. The wife continued with her classes while working at a retail store downtown. There were some tough times.
Our one bedroom apartment was at the top of a hill and when our one and only car broke down, we had to take the bus home which let us off at the bottom of the hill and we would walk the rest of the way.
Walking that hill after a 17 hour day at 1am was not always easy. We usually tried to entertain ourselves by singing in harmony as we walked (I think it kept us from crying some days). "That Lonesome Road" by James Taylor was one of our favorites.
Near our apartment was a chain link fence with an enormous Jasmine vine. The smell of that sweet Jasmine was so wonderful and it reminded us that no matter how bad things got, there was still beauty in the world.
A friend gave us a Jasmine plant back in 2002 and it has been with us ever since. It sits in a big pot in the back yard and grows up and around our back deck.
Yesterday it bloomed and the wife (as she usually does), cut a spring and put it in a vase by the computer.
Life is sweet.
4 comments:
Beautifully told.
The only thing that made me think about was sourdough and pesto from Spaghetti Factory.
Jasmine = home. That vine was right before our apartment, it meant we were nearly there. Usually in the wee hours of the morning after a late night shift. The scent of Jasmine means HOME.
And I have to say, I was not really sad to see The Ol'Spag go.
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