random musings

Spring officially ushered herself in on Saturday afternoon. As I emerged from my front door the smell of grilling food and warm fresh air let my nose know that the seasonal transition is in full swing. I paused on the stoop for a moment finding it hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, I stood in that very spot, snow up to my knees. Fireplaces from all over the neighborhood emitted their distinct aroma into crisp winds provoking a feeling of warmth and comfort; those same emotions wafted over me as I took a deep breath of what I imagined would be tasty. Two very distinctive scents from different seasons associated with the same element stirring up similar sentiments…

One minute we’re hunkered down forced into captivity by the weather, the next practically every inch of space is inhabited by a mass of bodies soaking up a shift in the outdoor condition. Twenty four hours ago many woke in a strange bed hundreds maybe thousands of miles from the familiar one they slept in last night and tonight; a plane ride forth then back made that connection. Was it just yesterday that I couldn’t wait for school to end for summer break; the years now pass so fast that I don’t remember blinking...

When I started to compose my thoughts for today’s post, I had it in my head that I was going to write something about scents but my musings are a bit random for some reason, fleeting thoughts about how fleeting things, people, occurrences in life can be so I need to flow for a minute or three without too much editing…During a recent visit to the doctor, the resident asked me routine questions that I asked her knowing she was young enough to be my daughter yet not feeling or looking much older than she. Regardless of how long I’ve been out of school and working, my body is still programmed for unobligated July and August freedom -- see you in September. To be a student again is not on my slate but if I got another degree, would time slow down again? Next month, I will travel across the country and think how wonderfully odd it is to wake up somewhere else then be back home in my own bedroom snuggled down almost as quickly as I settled into the room of a hotel. I will meet people on that same trip moving in and out of spaces that we both occupy that may become permanent fixtures on my landscape while I wonder where in the world are those who were occupants of my soul yet somehow fell off the reservation…

Background music is singing in a language that moves me because it just does without the necessity of understanding a single word, it had the same affect on a friend who knows the translation. Two very distinctive individuals on different paths that effortlessly crossed associating with the same song that stirred similar sentiments; we both wept when we first heard the piece. The door to my balcony is open ushering in the flavor of a Sunday breakfast being prepared by a neighbor, aromas reminiscent of any meal that includes bacon past, present and future. Is that a universal smell even if you don’t eat swine?



keep your peepers open! ®

ps – the little bird in the picture seemed as random as my thoughts are today...he was clearly in DC by accident with that very long beak wondering how on earth he got here, could he flap his wings and go back?