Still in pajamas, I lightly kick my flip flops off and press my toes into the grass, letting my heels float as I rock the outdoor chair. Sun filtered by clouds gently heats my left side and I hear birdsong and a podcast. To my left, my dogs sunbathe, and five chicks rest in the grass under a mesh dome. To my right, close enough to pet, my gray tabby waits for affection. She barely reacts to my touch, but she doesn't leave, and that tells me she's happy. My brother gets in his '77 vehicle and its engine starts with a bark or a roar, and then rapidly becomes a purr.
Quarantine hasn't changed my life very much. I almost never leave the house anyway. This is basically a normal summer for me just a few months early.
My cat is walking across the lawn now. It was mowed yesterday. She seems at ease. Aware, but calm. Her eyes turn to me and her tail lifts in greeting. She walks over, I reached down to pet her, and she head-butts my fingers. She meows twice as I pet her...three meows now. She sheds a lot, especially in the sun. She paces away and lies on the warm driveway, stretching out on her side, curling her claws with delight.
The chicks are peeping loudly from time to time. They seem to like the sun and grass. They don't seem to be pecking each other all that much now that they're outside, which is odd because their outdoors enclosure is smaller than the indoors one.
I have no direction right now, but not in a scary way. It's warm, I don't have to think about much of anything, I finally accomplished a project that took over a week to do and feel totally satisfied even tho it didn't come out perfect.
The trees are in blossom. Apple, cherry, plum, pear. All the fruit trees on our property. Periwinkles peel out past lush green leaves alongside the road and our driveway entrance. Traffic on the road next to us is light. Sometimes small propeller planes fly overhead.
It's not a perfect day. But it is a really good day. And that's all I need right now. It could stand to be cooler. It could stand to be less cloudy. There could be less cars on the road. But I had one of those perfect days earlier this week, so I don't need today to be like that in order to enjoy it.
I might lie down in the grass. I might stay in my chair. Don't know. All I know is I'm calm and drowsy and pleasant. Not perfect, not needing to be perfect. Simply pleasant at heart. And that's all that matters in my world right now.
