After a morning of working on projects, paying bills,
reading and doing laundry, I took a break for lunch and then went to the gym.
When I got home Maddie and Morgan got their “promised” pool time, which usually
takes 30 to 45 minutes depending on how active they are. They have a routine and we usually follow it for
their maximum enjoyment, for their safety and to be able to recycle the water from the pool.
Usually by 3:30pm one of the corners of the back patio is nicely
shaded and is the perfect location for the camping hammock. Not sure who
designed this apparatus, it takes all of 3 minutes to set up and not much
strength is required. Maddie and Morgan
always close by supervising.
While I was setting up the hammock, I gave myself permission
to do nothing and simply enjoy the
windy, cool afternoon for about 45 minutes. Maddie and Morgan usually have their dinner
around 4:30pm, so I thought it was OK to enjoy the hammock, the wind, the
sunshine and the beautiful white clouds traveling in the sky, until it was time
to feed them.
I am not sure all of the factors, perhaps the combination of
the perfect sky coupled with the lively tempo and song of the winds, after I
fed the girls, I went back out and enjoyed the afternoon in the hammock until
almost 7pm.
The large tree from Brian’s house next door was singing. The
leaves moved in unison, sometimes fast, sometimes very fast, the sounds curious and soothing. I closed my
eyes and imagined being on a hill top conversing with the universe. The movement of the chimes in the other
corner of the patio a wonderful compliment, it was like someone had planned for
all these things to happen at the same time, creating moments of
perfection.
Mother Nature and a platoon
of Angels, thank you !
For some time Maddie got up in the hammock with me, she settled
herself in the down position or what she also knows as “going Night Night”, she closed her eyes and
was happy to be still. Morgan was not far away, sitting straight up, attentive,
moving her head a bit from side to side. I think she was observing the
leaves as they were being tossed around by the wind gusts.
Maybe it was me paying attention, being focused, enjoying
with purpose the manifestation of nature, noticing the sharp contrast of the
white and blue sky, recognizing the extra freshness of the air, celebrating the
tree song melodies.
Maybe it was the sway of the big pine trees, like giant
overstuffed chorus dancers or the small hosta plants screaming, the wind, its too fast, too much. My time on the patio yesterday in
the camping hammock was perfect. I don’t
know how else to describe.
After I came inside, I was overwhelmed with a current of
joy. I know being in a hammock had much to do with this feeling, hammocks for
me are vessels that carry and conjure up wonderful life long memories.
The winds yesterday were certainly close cousins
to breeze and winds I’ve met in Arraijan in Panama or enjoyed at Isla Perro in
the San Blas Islands or toasted at Compass Point in the Bahamas.
The few hours on the patio were not planned; there was a
tiny bit of delight in doing nothing, like I was getting away with something
I am not supposed to do. In that delight
I tried as much as I could to recognize and realize simple, yet profound gratitude.
I was thankful for the visit from the wind, I was
appreciative for being able to be there for a few hours in the afternoon doing nothing. For 33 years in my life, the notion of not
being productive was rare, especially at 4pm on a weekday. It was as if I had robbed time from an
important to do list or project. Amazing
how a type A brain can be programmed.
In the backyard yesterday, the afternoon was perfect.
