Tuesday 19 September 2006

Time came with the wind. Came with the rain and snow, the heat and cold. It battered against my log frame. It ate at the plaster that kept out the cold. As the ground beneath me shifted, my walls cracked with the strain, but I remained upright, a protection for my inhabitants.
With love, they painted my window frames and hung a strong door to keep out the elements. They filled me with the nicest furnishing they could afford. Then children came. Their laughter filled every nook and cranny within my walls, and I sang with them. Around me, cattle lowed and sheep bleated. Farm machinery hummed from spring to fall and rested through the snow.
Over the years, my first inhabitant’s hair turned gray. Their steps became a little feebler each day. The children grew and one by one went away. Then a day I hadn’t seen coming arrived. A yellow sign appeared in front of me, and shortly thereafter, the now old couple left and the sign came down.
Slowly, the hinges holding up my door pulled away from the frame, and eventually the door collapsed. Stones hit my windows, shattering them. Rain and snow hurled through my open doorway, rotting my foundation. But who is there to care? Will anyone bring laughter back to me? If you will, come right on in. Make me sing again, and I have a lifetime of stories I’ll share with you.
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when

you

take your eyes off your goal.