Gems

Liam reaches across the table to take Sophie’s hand. “Happy?” he asks.

“Happy, scared, excited, worried. I’m a lot of things right now!”

“Don’t worry. We have a plan, remember?”

Sophie relaxes and smiles. “Yes, and we’re creative, imaginative people!” She repeats their well-worn mantra. “We can do this.”

Sometimes she thinks they must be crazy, leaving their coveted jobs to become self-sufficient. But she really doesn’t want to wait thirty more years to live the life she loves. Now’s the time.

“This afternoon I’ll plow that sunny section for our vegetable garden. Let’s pick out what we want to plant. I’ll learn how to cook them all!” He opens a color catalogue with bright red tomatoes, green peas, yellow peppers, blueberries, strawberries … the pictures are like an art gallery.

“Be sure and include herbs.” Sophie remembers her mother’s window garden and the delicious smells coming from the kitchen of her childhood. “Basil, oregano, parsley,” she begins.

“Now that we have the thyme,” jokes her husband. She rolls her eyes but can’t help laughing. She changes the subject.

“I got an email from Dan early this morning. He wants me to write articles about our new life. Off the Grid Magazine is paying nicely, he says. But I’d rather write fiction, I told him. No problem, he said, OTG loves fiction too, especially flash fiction. So I have an idea for a story.” Her words tumble over each other, and she’s almost breathless with enthusiasm.

“Can you tell me about it?”

“I don’t want to give it away, but it involves bees.”

“Ah, bees. I forgot to put that on our list. I can build beehives and learn the art of beekeeping! That is definitely off the grid.”

Sophie eats the last of her avocado toast and heads toward her tiny sunlit office. She kisses Liam on the forehead. “Enjoy your plowing! I’ll read you my story tonight, at least the rough draft.”

And thus the first week of their Great Resignation begins.

    0 0 votes
    Post Rating
    5 Comments
    Oldest
    Newest Most Voted
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    Lotchie Carmelo
    Lotchie Carmelo(@lotchie-carmelo)
    1 year ago

    I am happy that they have finally made the right decision: to live the lives they want; to plant vegetables in the garden and write. And also making beehives, is so much fun and exciting. I can feel the pleasure but, there are doubts if they will be able to live simply in the way they want. But I know they can do it. Good job. I can feel every emotion in… Read more »

    Lotchie Carmelo
    Lotchie Carmelo(@lotchie-carmelo)
    Reply to  Julie Harris
    1 year ago

    You’re welcome, Julie. You are so sweet, Julie and yes, wild honey is my favorite.

    Christer Norrlof
    Christer Norrlof(@christer-norrlof)
    1 year ago

    Thank you, Julie, for giving us a peek into what Sophie’s and Liam’s first week after The Great Resignation looked like. It’s a joy to see their enthusiasm and how close they seem to be to each other in their decision and focus as they are starting a new and different life together. Your picture with seed packages is a great illustration of the variety of their plans and ideas, but the… Read more »

    Recent Comments

    5
    0
    Selected Authors may submit comments (5 Credits)x
    ()
    x
    Scroll to Top

    Sharing a Post

    Why do my friends need to SignIn to read the post I shared?

    Actually, this is a voting security feature. During public voting, only club members can read posts submitted for that contest. Since anyone reading the story is able to vote (click the Like button), we reserve these capabilities to members who SignIn. Before we implemented this security feature, people were voting multiple times and making the public voting process unfair and out of balance. To fix this, our staff finally decided to allow only members who SignIn to read the stories. Membership is free and easy, and ensures our club is safe, secure, and family-friendly!