Page 2 - May 2017 Writing Contest Winner

Expectations

Elizabeth Perry

The day was here. The one most children…and a few select adults…looked forward to
each and every year.

It was going to be another warm day the old man thought to himself as he placed his
chair under a huge oak tree. The tree stood almost forty feet tall and was estimated at over 150
years old, it was one of the few things in life which still made him feel young. Closing his eyes,
he thought back to the Memorial Day holiday his father hung a tire swing in the tree for him
and his siblings to use on their summer vacation. Although the rope had been replaced more
than once, the old tire was still there. His brood and the neighborhood kids took their turn with
it. Then his grandchildren leaned to use it. And now his great-grandchildren were starting to
find hours of enjoyment in it. Forget all the new high-tech gadgets of this generation,
sometimes it was the simple things of yesteryear which brought unexpected fun.

Settling into the lawn chair, the old man glanced at his watch. He was a bit early, but he
didn’t mind. A little extra time for the excitement to build inside wasn’t such a bad thing.

The old man took a deep breath and caught the scent of roses of various colors all
blooming along the fence between him and the large red brick building he was watching. These
rose bushes were the pride of his late wife who, while he worked, could spend hours out here
in the garden tending to them and pruning when necessary. A small florist shop that closed
years ago used to buy some of the flowers during busy times such as Valentine’s Day or
Mother’s Day. He loved seeing her beam with pride when she brought home the few extra
dollars her beautiful blooms earned. After she passed, he couldn’t bear to see the bushes she’d
tenderly cared for all those years get overgrown with weeds and creeping ivy, so he spent a
good deal of his retirement keeping up the bushes that gave her so much satisfaction.

He took another gander at his timepiece. Not quite time yet. His foot tapped in
anticipation. Some people might not understand why a man his age still looked forward to this
day the way he did, but they were the unfortunate ones who’d forgotten a special part of their
childhood.