Tuesday, July 12, 2016

While My Coffee "Perked"...

Copyright 2016 by Lori-Ann Willey

While My Coffee “Perked”, I Stepped Outside into the fresh, cool mid-July morning air.

This morning, with a few peanuts in my hand, I stood barefoot on the wet deck as Bebe, the red squirrel, danced around my cold feet. He hoped for a peanut and I hoped not to disappoint his wants.  When his four feet stepped upon mine, I was not surprised that they were very cold and wet, too.   I grinned, bent over and greeted the little guy with an anxious, yet warm, “G’d Mawnin’, Bebe!”  It was then that my body no longer felt as cold as it had a few seconds before.  In an instant, my heart warmed more quickly than the heart of the scrooge-like Grinch (How the Grinch Stole Christmas) did on that very cold Christmas day.  My mind no longer thought about the cold deck boards or the chilled morning air. The young squirrel brought instant warmth, just as my foot, my voice, and that peanut probably brought him warmth, too.

After Bebe left to deposit his snack cache, I leaned over the deck rail and peered closer at the cranberry blossoms.  They rested in four large, cut-off rain barrels some six feet below where I stood.  Still as shaded as I was, the tiny blossoms seemed to radiate a subtle, yet crisp-edge glow against the darkened, wet soil from which they grew.  With a smile upon my face, I prided myself with the successful transfer from the wild.  The soil, hand-made from the collection of natural woodland debris throughout the years, further filled my heart with not only pride but thankfulness that I have the knowledge to create such things at will.  The work, no matter the biting insects, the twig punctures, scrapes, and/or all those tiny flakes of bark that find my lubricated eyeballs, is all worth the view before me.  New life.  Encouraged and nurtured.  Already, that labor seemed a lifetime ago.

With my elbows resting upon a rain-wetted beach towel, it felt cool upon touch.  The transference of heat from my body and the transfer of coldness from the towel, soon the two came to an understanding, a balance between the two, if you will. It wasn’t long before I dropped my forearms and allowed them to rest upon the towel, too.  My hands naturally clasped together for more warmth in an attempt to lessen the cold.  Chilled one too many times, my body tried to prevent the deep ache that so easily creeps into my chubby fingers. 

My body as a whole gave its first warning.  The fine, nearly invisible arm hairs stood tall, proud, and begging.  I knew that feeling all too well, but still, my eyes needed confirmation.  They always do. Instinctively, my forearms closed the gap between them while my warm palms stroked the fine hairs into a quick, but gentle submission. Our Innate instincts are self-protecting and deserving. It is that appreciation that so many overlook.  Like so many things of today …we often take our bodies for granted, too.

My morning Step Outside came to an end when the coffee buzzer sounded.

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