In the Clouds...

This is my perch. One of them anyway.

I love to open up the windows, feel the breeze, and listen to the outside.

Cars swooshing by, kids squealing, dogs from the near-by dog park reminding me that I still have to fit that outing into my day...

This is what surrounds me when I'm perched. It's a comforting space.  So comforting that I sometimes find the hours of the day escaping me without my awareness. This is, of course, when kids are at school and dogs are asleep, leaving me without the necessary external cues to go and do.

While I find the practice of "being" to be healthy, I'm told that regular physical activity is vital as well. I am also aware that a fit and healthy body has a better chance of fighting off the bad bugs like Lyme.

I felt optimistic, when we chose to move into a home with six flights of stairs, that I would be kicked into shape by merely performing the day-to-day necessities of life. Let me tell you, it's quite a feat to unload a van-full of Costco groceries into our third floor kitchen!

However, my scale and mirrors have assured me that this plan of mine is not living up to it's potential. So, I have been forcing myself out of my cozy place and down the stairs to join the sounds outside.

In truth, I have always loved walking/jogging. For a while I was even going on daily bike rides. I'm not talking fitness guru-type stuff, just pleasure riding. I love being out there, alone, quiet, but among everyone and everything else. I like it best when it's overcast and cool. Clouds seem to bring out the colors in all the earthy things. And the smell of rain... It's healing.

I take my iphone with me when I go. I feel an ounce safer with it on my hip. Because, if assaulted, I can... call? hit? stab?... my assailant with it. There's also that nagging paranoia that the one time I leave without my phone will be THE time some unspeakable tragedy takes place and I cannot be reached.

Anyway, the real beauty in wearing my phone on my hip is my ability to capture all the images that I just can't stand leaving behind.

Ya, there's an app for that...