I have a place where I write down lines that have no connection. I write them and I save them for later, for when I need a push to write. The first line of this little story, comes from there, and the story is inspired by a picture on Flickr by Jody McNary Photography.

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It was not supposed to be like this, the brochure promised more.

Putting agony and ecstasy into words is easy, the hard bit is describing the every day. The slow, steady rhythm of life. The moments when I wake up, when I eat, when I sit in the sun, and when I brush my teeth before sleep.

What was it supposed to be? Beautiful– days of endless sunshine and rain. There were supposed to be flowers blooming up through snow, and rainbows reflected in endless pools.

But it’s less adventure, and more routine. Shaking the same hands, reintroducing myself to more people that have forgotten me. It is tedium.

The pictures never show housework or bills; they show lush gardens and hammocks. The gardens grow daffodils and sweet peas, but the photographers are careful not to show the thistles and hemlock hiding int he dark corners.

I suppose I should have known. When someone offers up Utopia, it would make sense to use caution, and to show some restraint. Restraint has never been my style, however, I’m more one to leap headlong into possibility, and then to regret my rashness later.