01/10/2024
January 1, 2024
“Hey dad, I’m gonna walk down the road to take a couple photos.”
“Okay, I’ll come pick you up.”
The sun was rising quietly, effortlessly, and ever so slowly
Cold air found its way into every corner and crevice of the morning
Rocks and trees began to show their silhouetted shapes
Two Great Horned Owls break the frozen silence as they hoot back and forth
Their calls echoing off the barely noticeable red rocks as they tower upward into the brilliant orange and blue sky
Morning had come
A New Year dawning
My heart begins to race
New dreams and possibilities start to flood my mind
Hope
You can feel it in the air
As if it was racing the sun to the horizon
Jumping out of the dark corners as the sky began to illuminate the land
A car was coming down the road, headlights making clear the winding road ahead
It stops
It’s my dad
My face frostbitten from the slight breeze
I take one last deep breath
Letting the cold air fill my lungs as I imagine the warmth of the not yet risen sun
And all of sudden, not wanting to leave this moment, I realize the importance of what sits in the warmth of the car
