Filling in the Blanks

Susanne Baremore wants to (blank) with (blank) at (blank). Legitimate offers only, please. :-P

Last week, just for giggles (cuz my sense of humor is ESSENTIAL to getting through life these days…), I posted this on my Facebook page. The typical sophomoric discussion ensued, which was, in and of itself a nice distraction. I was flattered, curious, and even a little piqued by some of the submissions I received privately.

The winning submission though, was such a delightful and unexpected surprise.

My friend Karen texted me, “Susanne Baremore wants to lie in a hammock with lightly sweetened green tea at Karen and Dan’s house.”

Karen and Dan are friends I’ve known since I lived in Quincy. I met them in the middle of a dark night on Highway 36, when they stopped to help me with a flat tire back in 1995. Dan was then a forester, so we had lots of things in common, and Karen is the older sister of a colleague of mine from back in those days.

Upon receiving the text, I replied, “Oh heck yeah!” and made arrangements to go get me some hammock time. Karen and Dan own a home along the Sacramento River, with lush green grass and a superfluity of shade trees that gently meet at the river’s edge. Tied between two trees is a soft mesh hammock, which I rolled into, and almost immediately fell asleep. My slumber was caressed by a soft breeze, the sweet smell of green grass, and the sound of water winding its way to the central valley.

Even more satisfying was the fact that my dreams that afternoon were infinitely more pleasant than the medicinally-induced nightmares from which I suffer lately. The dream I had was reminiscent of a time when I was about nine or ten, and at my friend Bonnie’s house. Her step-mom Gloria, decided to barbeque for supper. I loved hanging out at Bonnie’s house, for no other reason than it was so different from mine. Bonnie’s family had a military background, and things were always bright, spic and span; a sharp contrast from the, um, less organized domestic infrastructure that was my childhood home.

The dream was full of the sounds of ice clinking in glasses, the sizzle of meat on the grill, the smell of butter melting on cob corn, and the liberating feel of eating outside of the confines of the traditional dining area. While we were waiting to eat, Bonnie and I raced to complete jigsaw puzzles on the picnic table. As usual, she was kicking my butt, being three years older, and an infinitely better sequential thinker than me.

As Karen gently roused me from my nap, I realized that the smells and sounds of my dream had become reality, as Karen guided me to a feast on their own picnic table.

I felt so rested and refreshed, as I ate a few small pieces of some of the best barbequed steak I’ve ever had, and spent time in the company of people who ‘get me’ in ways that most don’t.

As I was returning back to my parents’ house, I thought again of the inspiration of the day—throwing out some blank spaces and being brave enough to see how life might fill them in. I think I’m going to create more opportunities in life for things to unfold this way…