Adam awoke before dawn. Even though curtains covered the windows in his dormitory room, he knew that the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon. The first day of spring, it was always the hardest to endure being away from the Ponderosa on this day. He swung out of bed and dressed quickly, then grabbed a package and crept out of the dormitory, rolling his eyes at the numerous snores he heard. Back home the entire house would be beginning to stir...he stopped himself from going further into his memories.

          People in the city don't know what a sunrise is! he thought as he walked across the campus and settled beneath a large tree. A sunrise on the Ponderosa meant gorgeous transition from velvet blackness to crisp light...it meant seeing the dark outlines of trees suddenly take on color and depth again...it meant knowing that his father and brothers were inside the house, and they were together. They had been such a closely connected family, even his great desire to go to college seemed like a paltry excuse to leave at times, particularly on mornings like this.

          He dropped his head for a moment, and bit his lip to stop the tears forming in his eyes. He opened the envelope he had brought. It contained his father's last letter, delivered just days before, but already worn on the edges from repeated readings. He didn't read it for a moment, just stared at the signature at the bottom. PA. Even in his educated world, where "Pa" seemed to be a ridiculously childish name for his father, he clung to the word, a comforting link to home.

Then his eyes scanned the paper, just drinking in the handwriting. He practically had the letter memorized, anyway, and it was almost as nice to just look at the words penned by his father as it was to actually read them. But soon, he turned his eyes to the top of the page.

"Dear Son,

How are your classes going? I read the essay you sent me and greatly enjoyed it.

As spring approaches, I catch myself looking for you more and more, going to find you about the bookkeeping to be done, almost calling your name, at times, before I stop myself. Hoss and Joe are getting a little worried about me, I think, I catch them watching me after something like that happens.

The Ponderosa is waking up from her winter's sleep, and it's as beautiful a sight as a man could wish for on this earth. I'll not try to describe it, your memories can serve much better, I think."

There was more, but Adam stopped reading. Yes, his memories were vivid, and he ached to see the realities again. Even the chores he had complained of, the never-ending days in the saddle, they all seemed heavenly to think of, when he remembered the breathtaking beauty he had taken for granted.

He stood reluctantly as the pale light became stronger, warning him of the approach of class time. There was a slight smile on his face as he headed back to the dormitory, a small consolation warming his soul. On the next first day of spring, he'd be home!