Prompt 1 Week 13: The things I see as I walk down the street that's like heaven to me....

                I don’t know what heaven is like. Haven’t been there and don’t plan on it for a long time but I know it is a perfect place, a reward for navigating through life’s hardships, for having faith, and for being virtuous. Everyone’s heaven must be different, made up of people they’ve loved and lost and their favorite things. Things that put big smiles on their faces. There is no pain or tears.

                My heaven would be warm; a land of perpetual sunshine but my skin would never burn. I could soak up its rays for hours every day without worrying about skin cancer or wrinkles. In my heaven nobody cares what you look like; I don’t spend time worrying about my skin-care regime or makeup. I don’t have to do my hair. It doesn’t matter what I wear and I’m always comfortable.

                I’d catch up with my grandmother who I haven’t seen seventeen years. We’d play cribbage (she’d have to teach me again; I haven’t played since she passed) and she’d be impressed that she passed her culinary skills on to me. I’d tell her all about my life on earth (even my mistakes). In my heaven, lies don’t exist. She’d introduce me to her father, a man I never met. It would be like we had never been apart. She’d be close with Shane; they play poker together. He’ll be a more gracious loser, even letting Nana win

                In my heaven you can eat whatever you want without worrying about whether or not it’s good or bad for you because there, nothing will cause heart disease or breast cancer. Pulled pork sandwiches with spicy slaw and nachos, strawberry and spinach salad with grilled chicken, it doesn’t matter. Whatever you like.

                Fragrant flowers grow freely in vibrant pink and lavender, white and marigold. The trees are tall, their green leaves bright and saturated with life. There are no allergies and all my animals will be there. Nadia, Nana’s loyal Husky and Millie, her fat, happy pug. Sasha will be gone by then and Peekah too. In heaven they don’t hiss viciously at each other. Saba, Nellie, the hamster that died on my tenth birthday. They’ll all be there, roaming around in nature without fear of being attacked, getting along.

                There is no stress, a permanent vacation. In my heaven, I’ll never want anything, knowing I have everything I need.

                Heaven will have to wait many years (I hope), so for now, I have to look for slivers of heaven on earth. Sometimes it’s hard to see. I’ll be the first to admit that when I’m stressed out and frazzled, too busy to eat, I forget there is so much to be grateful for. So many beautiful things.

                The other night I was driving on the interstate. It was about 11 PM and my craving for Pat’s Pizza and Buffalo wings sent me on the trek to Orono. I’d gotten my food and on the way back I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the sky. It was raining, more of a drizzle, and the distant streetlights of Bangor illuminated the clouds hanging low in the sky. They were deep purple, a musky orange. Dark and bright at the same time and for that drive, the cold rain and the pitch dark were warm and comforting above the silent interstate. Heaven on earth.