My Summer Job

I never set my alarm clock. I just wake up to swaying cedars and the smell of heat.

Breakfast is relaxed and easy in Philip's kitchen. We have a large old table that is pitted and scarred from years of service. I love that table. It is adorned by a single lantern (which serves it's purpose during evenings of cribbage and letter writing).

We share toast ( I always bake bread on Mondays) and strawberry jam and, for me, a pot of coffee with real cream!

The morning shower is outside under the morning sapphire sky and the cacophony of birds. (We have a pair of nesting egrets right on the premise).

My second cup of brew is gently sipped on the pizer as I wait for the church bells. As they begin ringing at 9:00, I put down my cup and walk to the shop. (No shoes necessary, I don't even know where they are!)

I love opening the shop. Sometimes I feel as if I am in a movie...unlocking the door, hanging out the open sign...sweep the porch...put on the music. (Always I play Sundae and Rob's CD, Home is an Island....)

From the front door of the shop is the Howard cemetery. It is actually a comforting thought and lovely to look at with it's white picket fence.

I breathe in the scents of the shop...cedar..soap..

Folks from all over arrive...happy, barefooted to browse...to shop...to talk. (We love to talk!)

When my lunch hour comes I stroll home...it takes a minute and a half if I dawdle...walking on the planks...picking up a clam shell...waving to friends and visitors.

Lunch is on the pizer...tuna or boiled eggs..or leftovers from the night before. Philip reads at lunch, but I just sit outside and absorb life.

An hour late I stroll back (maybe take the shortcut through the woods!)...and spend the rest of the day chatting with folks, ringing up sales, dreaming out of the window.

And for all of this, I actually get paid. Life is wonderful.


Lou Ann Homan is a writer, teacher, and storyteller who lives in Northern Indiana, but spends her summers on Ocracoke Island. She is available for writing seminars, storytelling, and speaking engagements. She can be contacted at locketoftime@aol.com. You can read more at www.louannhoman.com