Caleb's Moment

Caleb’s Moment                                            3-14-2013

By John W. Vander Velden

 

By the time the sky’s first light appeared, Caleb had finished the milking.  Days started early on the Audensen Farm.   Each day, Sundays as well, had work waiting…work that demanded more hours than daylight provided.  Only summer’s longer days minimized the need for the kerosene lantern, Caleb now carried back to the house.

The young farmer paused …paused just a moment.  Drawing morning’s first air, with its freshness deep into his lungs, Caleb examined the world around him, the new day, dew fresh, the air crystalline clear.  How seldom did Caleb Audensen take the time…to just see…to feel the life that surrounded him.  There was always too much to do!  Caleb set the lantern at his feet…drew another deep breath.  The scent of fresh baking mixed with curing hay filled his nostrils.  A moment…just a few minutes torn out of another hectic day.  A brief time to absorb the wonders all about him.  The morning star yet hung, bright and defiant in the brightening eastern sky.  The sweet notes of a Robin declared the new day’s beginning.  The soft low of Elsie, a reminder of tasks yet incomplete.  But Caleb would take a moment…only a moment… a moment to see…to feel…a moment to savor life….  He would take this brief time…his own time…Calebs moment.

(224 Words)