In Praise of a Perfectly Lovely Day

Oh, the loveliness of today! Here in West Georgia we have had unseasonably cool weather the past couple of days, and it has been glorious. I love coolish weather. Autumn is my favorite season because of the crisp, breezy coolness it brings round about October/November. Yes, here in the South, fall comes a bit later. It's usually still rather warm in September.

But today! Today did not feel like July 1. I told my husband that I imagined this is what summer is like for those who live in the far North. "Um, sure," he said, disinterestedly while busily sketching plans for our new deck. I'm sure it gets hot up North, too, though minus all of the humidity we have here. How I loathe humidity.

First thing this morning, I took full advantage of the lovely weather and went for a walk, then picked some vegetables from the garden, weeded the flower bed and cut some flowers for an arrangement. After I came inside, I opened all of the windows so we could get a little cross ventilation going, arranged the flowers in a couple of little vases, and prepared the tomatoes for the freezer all while enjoying the gentle coolness of the breeze blowing through the kitchen window.

Doodlebug and Little Munchkin played with some air-drying clay, happily molding it into such things as flowers in little pots, animals, and other indistinguishable objets d'art.

Later, I stood outside in our wonderfully thick, lush grass while my husband muttered and puttered about measuring for the deck he plans to build which will greatly aid our al fresco dining capabilities. I would occasionally hold the measuring tape for him, but mostly I stood there soaking in the day.

Eventually, I found myself flat on my back in the freshly cut grass which smelled faintly and deliciously like watermelon. I hadn't fallen or anything. I purposefully lay down in the grass. I've dreamed for a long time of having thick, luxuriant grass in my yard and now I have it. Today was the perfect day for exulting in it which for me meant rolling around in it. So, I lay there while my husband measured and muttered, and I inhaled deeply the beauty of the day.

At one point while lying on my stomach, I imagined that if I stretched out my arms, I would kind of be giving the earth a big hug. That's just what an exceptionally lovely day will do to me--turn me into an earth-hugging nature nut. Now as I sit here typing while my girls drift off to sleep, I can hear the night song of the crickets, katydids, and frogs through the open window.

And I wonder how anyone can possibly believe the beautiful complexity and diversity of the world around us just evolved.

"The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." Psalm 19:1