Then and Now | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Then and Now | Previous Challenge Entry
By Josh Johnson
05/07/08
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Back then golden rays of sunlight filtered down through the pale green leaves of a walnut tree late in summer. I watched the dust waft through the sunlight as I sat in one of the branches, unaware that in a score or so of years the hard bark of the trunk would hurt my back and the oven like heat would make me so uncomfortable. I enjoyed it all back then. I lived for it. To be outdoors, to climb a tree to spend the longest of days doing nothing but imagining other worlds as I waited eagerly for my mother to yell and call us to supper.
There was however a black spot on the happiness of youth a imperfection in the beauty of a summer afternoon, and as the sunlight warmed my skin and the smell of meadows and woods forever ingrained itself in my mind there remained three annoyances, three ever present distractions, my brother and two sisters. As I sat in my tree I could occasionally hear them yelling my name over and over calling out to me for play, for help, or for company, and I in my youth ignored them.
Now harsh white light of florescent bulbs cascade down upon harsh stainless steel surfaces. I chop vegetables and prepare sauces as I glance constantly at the clock worried if all will be done by the time the rush hits, fully aware of how the concrete floor hurts my back and the heat from the ovens makes me so very uncomfortable. I hate this part of life. I live for the chance to leave. To get in my car and rush to my house and spend what seems like the longest day ever constantly trying to get everything done and waiting for the end so I can crawl back in to bed for a few fleeting hours.
There is however a bright spot on the bleak horizon of long work hours and a hassled life, and as I run from task to task at work and force myself to make pizzas just a bit faster, growing to hate the smell of tomatoes and the grease of Italian meats there remain three great sanctuaries, three ever present sources of happiness, my brother and two sisters. When I consider who it is that my family and I would call out to for play, or help, or company, it seems that in my life I will always have and need them. I merely wished that I had figured it out then.

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