Jaime's Balcony

We have a balcony on the second floor of our house, off of our bedroom, as many of the houses on our block do.  Many of the other balconies are screened in with beautiful patio furniture, a lovely oasis. 

I've always wanted a balcony, because balconies remind me of my grandparents' home in Kolkata.  The verandah off the master bedroom was the family room.  I have memories playing there on the floor with someone who was special to me.  I have memories of my grandfather reading the Statesman on the wicker chair.  I have memories of my grandmother bringing out tea.  I have memories of rushing to the balcony to see who was ringing the doorbell.  I have memories of all of us there together on many an evening when "loadshedding" had struck and we were trying to escape the dark rooms with no fans working, trying not to get bitten by the mosquitoes. 

When we moved into our house, we realized we couldn't really use the balcony, as there is a hydro wire that crosses it, inconveniently placed.  We were resigned to it.  We didn't want the children going out there.  We locked the door and forgot about it.  The only person who used it was our handyman.  While he renovated our bathroom, he left some tools out there and a bit of a mess and forgot about it.

Months passed.

Later this spring, our neighbour mentioned it - the tools and the mess.  She had recently had her balcony renovated, so she could see ours.  I mentioned it to Jaime, and we sighed at the fact that we couldn't enjoy our balcony.

But Jaime thought there was something we could do. Slowly.  He put away the tools.  He cleaned up the mess.  One day, he bought a floor covering.  Another day, he came home with big plants - flowering plants and greens that look tropical.  He placed these plants around the perimeter so that the children could not get close to the hydro wire.  Another day, he came home with wrought iron patio furniture.

The balcony that was only good for leaving tools has now been transformed into something beautiful.  It is still not large and closed in, but it is a place where we can watch the sunset and gaze at the stars and take a breath of air. 

I reminded Jaime that six months ago, tomorrow, I had my big surgery.  He reminded me that something unusable and ugly and potentially dangerous can be transformed into something beautiful and soothing.