The sudden sound of a freight train with rusty wheels filled my living room. I put down my edits and ran to the balcony to see what was making such a loud racket at 3am. I live by a lumberyard complete with train tracks, but have never seen any trains use them in the year and a half I've been here. I assumed they were long abandoned for flatbed trucks—along with the rusted grain silo and weather worn buildings.
But there it was backing into the lumberyard. A train! I ran outside to get a better look. Like a little boy I was thrilled to see the train so close to my apartment complex—right on the other side of the wall. I arrived just after it quickly picked up its load.
As the train pulled away I followed it to the corner of my parking lot and watched it head off into the night. Then I walked around my complex typing on my iPhone the last edits for my blog post. There was a slight drizzle, and the faint but certain scent of Spring was in the air. For the first time in days, I was happy even though I was alone.
Then I headed home before the cold and the rain set my sickness back.
I do not regret going out, even if I do get sicker. These are the moments that make memories. I live for the opportunities when life tosses a surprise at me and I am able to catch it. My world can be somewhat mundane. I am grateful when life turns that world upside down and reminds me there is still magic in it.
~Dˢ
