The smell of lemons and cheap Champagne

As I come in the door I sling off my tie and slip my feet out of my ugly black work shoes, relishing the feeling of my toes wiggling free. Its been more than 14 hours since I left this morning and after a long day working two jobs, my mom curled up on the couch, watching the daily show, is a welcome sight.

I flop down next to her and launch into the daily debrief of the office job and the catering one, as Jon Stewart talks in the background. I am sometimes surprised by how much I enjoy days like this. My mind and my body feel well used, tired and lethargic, ‘I’ve done good.’ Though I will have to be up in few too few hours, I still feel wound as a top, as I finish my daily tales as I leave my mom to Stewart. Claiming the stairs to brush my teeth my mind spins and my nose is filled with the scent of cheap champagne.

A half an hour later, laying down in bed, my mind runs, but produces little. The creative juices are used, so I escape to my original adventure land. Slipping the bookmark from its resting place I tuck it in the back of the book. The story waits to draw me into another world, another country, another culture and time. Tonight I dance through Andalusia, I shear sheep, and clear canals for sweet mountain water. I will get lost, at least until my eyes fall shut and I can no longer hold them open. I will dream of the smell of driving over lemons and of burning olive wood.

Tomorrow will dawn too soon, but will bring me one step closer to my next adventure, both in the pages of a book and by my own two feet. I feel blessed with the ability to work and for the great people who work beside me. Sometimes the dream is not a dream, but the product of hard work and I know today brings me one step closer to boarding a plane to my own wonderland.

Until Next Time,
Goodnight,
~LU
Category : Teach Abroad
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