Morning

Mike and I are so grateful that we are still able to get out and enjoy the sunshine on our morning walks.  The weather here has been gorgeous - especially in the morning before it gets too hot.  We've been quite indulgent and have slept in almost every morning until almost 8:00, but still manage to be out the door by 8:30 or so.  

Each day, so far, the sky has been the most beautiful shade of blue.  Did you know that blue is considered a calming color?  We've barely stepped away from the front door when the color of the sky starts doing it's magic on my blood pressure.  Oh and the clouds!  Scant but puffy clouds in the shapes of dogs or cotton candy punctuate the sky giving it just the right amount of contrast.  When I was a little girl I used to think that clouds shaped like animals were the actual souls of animals heading to heaven, and I guess if I'm 100% honest a part of me still believes that.  The sun, rising up higher and higher in the sky, raises my spirits right along with it.

Near the corner where my street intersects with another there is a male cardinal with a very insistent song in one of the live oak trees. I've heard the adage that cardinals represent someone that we've lost in our lives but whose presence is still there.  They always seem like a good luck omen to me.  Especially when I spot one in the morning.  It's going to be a good day!  My neighborhood is about 14 years old, so the live oaks that line each side of the street have grown enough to provide a pretty canopy.  This time of year, though, the oaks are shedding leaves and pollen like crazy, so Mike isn't quite as enamored.  He's been out at our driveway and the sidewalk in front of our house every single day with the blower, a rake and garbage bags which has been a losing proposition.

There are a few regulars that we see on our walk, but we're careful to distance ourselves even as we pass.  No matter who we see, though, we're always greeted with a cheery "Good morning!", a smile or a wave.  Don't you love it when neighbors greet you like that?  We live in a large community, so I don't even know the names of most of the people we pass, but even those quick acknowledgements make us feel connected.

Though we take the same route every day, we've been closely studying the way others in our community have done their landscaping to get ideas.  Mike thinks big and dreams of  transforming our back yard into some kind of shangri-la while I look for colorful, sturdy flowers that could hopefully prevail despite my abysmal history with plants. We probably won't end up doing any more landscaping at all, but it's a fun pastime and every day we seem to find something new at one of the houses we pass.

As we step around wet sidewalks and the pfft pfft pfft of front yard sprinklers, I find myself more aware of the morning sounds.  There's a city garbage truck lumbering along, lifting the curbside cans up with metal arms and dumping the trash into it's maw.  There are mourning doves along the main street lining the golf course.  I love the sound they make - it always reminds me of our summer cottage and my childhood.  I hear garage doors opening and dads and moms ushering their little ones out into the sunshine on bikes, scooters, or pushing them in strollers.  In spite of the circumstances, it's awfully nice to see families together like that.  When families only have the weekend to be together there can often be a feeling of being rushed to finish errands and have the requisite "fun" time together.  This feels more leisurely - less forced.  Right now there are kids learning to ride two wheelers sooner than they normally would have.  2 year olds are being potty trained by their parents instead of a babysitter.  Someone is learning to bake bread for the first time. Please don't misunderstand.  There is no way I am saying this ordeal is a good thing in any way, shape or form.  After watching the TV and reading Twitter incessantly for the latest news this past week, I've just had to take a breather to calm and center myself.  I'm grasping for whatever small measures of peace I can find and trying to keep those things front and center in my life.

As we finish up our 3.3 miles and head into the blissfully cool air conditioning (it's HOT by now), I feel energized and ready to make the most of my day.  For the past two days we painted our laundry room and we have a big list of projects still to be tackled.  Walking, it seems, has put us on the right path.