She Woke Up
February 1974
She woke up in the back of an orange VW Beetle. Her eyes popped open to the astonishing glory of the Swiss Alps seen through the back portal window of the car. She was in the very back of the tiny vehicle, counting the black minute dots on the white headliner to pass the time - eventually falling asleep to the warm hum of the engine beneath her, happy and snug.
October 1984
She woke up when she was driving her ‘62 VW bug ragtop in her great escape from Los Angeles. The beauty of driving through the rocky mountains roused her and she decided to stay. Ironically the rockies replicate the mountains she woke up to when she was in the BACK of the VW (see above). Life has so many parallels.
January 1998
She woke up when her wedding gown nearly caught on fire at the altar. Was it a sign?
March 1998
She woke up in the arms of her lover, her head resting tenderly upon his warm heaving chest. “The safest place in the whole world” is what she would call it. Cuddled under the warm blankets, she watched the comforting view as the hairs on his chest grew more entangled with each inhale and exhale.
October 1987
She woke up to the most beautiful baby boy she had ever seen.
July 1990
She woke up to the most beautiful baby boy she had ever seen.
May 1992
She woke up to the most beautiful baby boy she had ever seen.
August 2001
She woke up to the most gorgeous baby girl she had ever laid eyes on.
October 1987 - August 2001
She woke up a lot in those years but most memories are unattainable as she was very tired from all the waking up.
January 2002
She woke up on a cushion in a mediation hall over the weekend, her mind a blank for a fraction of time the size of the slit between the wooden floor planks.
June 2001
She woke up when her father was told he had five years to live and she was pregnant with his fifth grandchild.
Oct 2005
She woke up when her son went to war. She was very grateful for the previous waking on the cushion.
April 2017
She woke up when her father-in-law fell in their house bringing a harsh reality to what she had been hoping and praying wasn’t so.
October 2019
She woke up in the arms of her lover in a single sleeping bag beneath the most gorgeous star scattered skies as they floated blissfully into the milky way above them.
Today
She woke up today, as in every day, until the day she doesn’t.