The Kitchen Wall

We moved when I was 8 years old, just going into 2nd grade. We went from living in town to a house in the middle of nowhere. From a class of 30 to a class of 10. From walking to school to riding a bus. From going to Grandma's after school to coming home to just my older siblings. Big changes were happening and I was terrified.

The first thing in my new house to catch my attention was the kitchen wall. At a glance it was a spectrum of greens and blues, but, there was more to it. I had never seen anything like it. There was a forest on that wall, a waterfall and cliffs, flowers and trees all on the wall. The longer I looked at it the more I saw. There were so many different types of plants in shades of green all living together on my wall. Sitting at that seventies' style table with its teal and metal chairs, getting ready for my first day in a new school, it was the perfect place to daydream. Living in that forest, just hidden from view, were fairies and leprechauns and all kinds of other magical creatures. Every time I looked at the forest I found something new and different. A new bird flying high above eye level, almost to the ceiling. Or, a new bug waiting to jump off one leaf and onto another. Or, a new plant with flowers just about to burst. There was anticipation in every section of that forest, every creature and plant was on the cusp of a big change. They didn't look terrified, they looked excited, ready for a new start. Maybe a new home wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.