Today, Margaret and I spent some time with my grandmother (her great-grandmother), whose name is also Margaret and who is very special to me. She lives at the top of a hill at the edge of a valley which meanders and nurtures strawberry and broccoli fields until it reaches the ocean in Ventura. When you sit on this bench, your view is straight down the valley to the ocean. (Click on the picture to enlarge it so you can really appreciate!)
We spent the night there and had a lovely time with her walking through the gardens that she and my Grandpa Bob have cultivated, picking oranges, lemons and avocados from the host of trees that live on the property, and cracking macadamia nuts open with an old brick to munch on the chewy nuts inside (these also grow in the garden). Little Margaret climbed trees and picked flowers. I remember picking fruit and flowers and playing in these very gardens when I was little. And sleeping in the same "Red White & Blue Room." Every room in my grandparent's home has a name. . . and a fond memory.
This bench has been perched at the top of this cliff for as long as I can remember. It has lived through blazing summers and El Nino rainstorms, fires that nearly took the house and earthquakes. I love the layers upon layers of paint that speak of the loving coat of paint this sweet bench receives year after year. There are so many things in the world that change. And while change is good, it is always good to know that there's a spot in your world that you know will still be there waiting for you. A spot where you can always look out at the ocean and believe that your dreams are possible.
That is--if it's not a smoggy day in California!
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