another time

In an alternate reality,

I grow old on a horse ranch in a valley surrounded by green foothills. I raise three children in a converted farmhouse, every day waking up at sunrise to the smells of fresh basil and wet grass. I feed the animals and brush them, clean out their stables and let them run the meadows. Prune the orchards with my helpers, and work up a sweat. Prepare lunch and dinner out of vegetables grown from the garden. Take my kids down to the lake and read to them. Let them run wild for a while and bring them in before the mosquitoes eat them alive. Bring the horses in after they've been exercised, and turn off the lights. Work on construction drawings, sketches, and prepare essays for the students. Fall asleep with the windows open.

ok that's about as sentimental as it gets ... time for fireworks!