Sweet Spring Surprise

I arrive home from my night shift still shivering from that cold walk from my car to the building entrance. I think again about what I was thinking when I gave up the basement parking and let Lauro have it. I remind myself again that I already took the bigger room and the bathroom so he should at least have the indoor parking. You have to be fair, I tell myself. This soliloquy will probably go on until summer arrives and I no longer need to brace myself for that freezing 30-second run.

I remove my favorite navy blue sweater and hung it in my coat closet. If I wasn't such a lazy person I would have taken the time to bundle up in warmers, put on a scarf and a thicker jacket. Then I wouldn't be shivering now. But, me doing that is like acknowledging that it's still winter and I won't do that.  I remove my 3-year-old pair of leather gloves and kiss them. They never fail me--not once. I have lined them with fleece gloves last winter and I have never needed a better pair since. After changing into my favorite pambahay shirt and pyjamas, I poured myself some chocolate milk and I sit at the breakfast bar. I like to sit there and think. Mostly I just stare blankly and wait for Mr. Sandman.

I stare at my chocolate milk and wish it was hot cocoa instead. If only a cup of hot chocolate doesn't require boiling and waiting and stirring, my shivers would have been gone by now. I can't drink any more so I pour the rest of the milk in the sink and I start heading to my bedroom. Crawling up in bed underneath all those sheets and blankets and comforter sounds even better than hot chocolate.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, just as I reached for my bedroom door, I see something. Sitting there on the window ledge, is a potted miniature orchid. And I know just who it came from. I then remember Lauro telling me he'll get me a houseplant I can take care of for spring. A warm feeling washes over me and I laugh. Suddenly I'm not shivering anymore.  I sit on a chair next to it and put my feet up on the ottoman and stare at the mini orchid in front of me. It will get my by these last days of winter. A potted flower to remind that spring, along with its warmer weather, is coming soon!

I think about how I must be favored by the gods for having been given someone so sweet and thoughtful. I think about all the things he does for me and how he never forgets about me. And now I think about how glad I am I let him have the basement parking. It may not be much, but if every day I feel inconvenienced because outdoor parking is, undeniably, a pain in the arse then that's just perfect. Let me get soaked when it rains. Let me shiver in a snowstorm trying to scrape the car windows. Let me be umcomfortable. I want to do things for him too. :)