This Story
I spread out the large cotton blanket on the back lawn. I brought my journal, but it’s been the clouds drawing my gaze of late…from my Lyft window yesterday on my way to the Art Fair downtown, on my neighborhood walks, and traffic pauses. I knew there must be a lot going on for them, the clouds. Numerous details about their being that went far beyond the “cirrus” and “cumulus,” “nimbus(?)” factoids that lived at the edges of my thinking brain.
I could see them changing constantly. Even the ones that looked more still would be in motion when I looked closely. I wondered if the far eye gazeing was healthy for me physically too. I’d just listened to a podcast about vision health and its intersections with total health. Reversing myopia, strengthening interpersonal connections…It must be I decided…better keep up this new habit I’ve been forming, whispy-like, in recent days.
The pup came out and lay beside me. Some leaves from the oak tree joined us. “Mom!” (Where are you?) I heard. “I’m in the backyard” He snuggled right up to join me on my back and we chatted about the formations and movements. Little ones breaking apart and fragments being welcomed by larger fluffs.
A drop or two had me setting my journal inside and then we lay there as a dark gray body moved over us northward letting larger and larger plunks of water land so that it was hard to keep our eyes open as we giggled and felt the temperature lower a bit. A drop fell on my teeth as I was laughing. “One fell on my eyelash, Mom!” The gray cloud was moving quickly and bright blue sky was easily going to be over us soon so it let out even more, giving its best attempt to soak us with water and giggles. Mission accomplished.
