Mmm...

A few nights ago, I sat with a friend in his roommate's hot tub. He had three chapters to read for school, so I pulled out _Jurassic Park_ and we slid into the bubbles. Nerdy, but good. When we were sufficiently broiled (not quite through a whole chapter), out we went. A pause, though; "When I grow up, I want one of these," he said. I agreed.

Today, I had another "When I grow up, I want..." moment. A coworker sent out an email asking if anyone wanted fish. She and her husband had put in a koi pond and didn't realize that having koi meant having more koi...and more koi... I followed her home at noon, and the place is just luscious! There are perennials along the perimeter of the property, and a big, old Victorian house with a 3/4 wraparound porch. The koi pond parallels two of the sides--so it seems to just keep going. I took the few steps up onto the porch and was astounded. It was a windy afternoon, and I could just imagine sitting there in the shade, being rocked in the swing... Then came the "I want this moment:" at the southwest corner of the porch is a stairway going out to the yard. The stairs drop you off at a bridge that runs over the koi pond. A bridge with a point! You know the "ballroom stairs" moment? Like in A Cinderella Story and others of that sort, in which the princess character descends with flowing gown? I'm not a very flowy gowny sort of person, but I felt like a princess as I descended those steps. It was a beautiful feeling!

When I grow up...