Too Much Beauty

We have been having an unpleasant summer here in the North. We had a rainy May, a cloudy and rainier June, and a HOT! July. So hot, in fact, that the brain shuts down and the lizard mind takes over. Entire days are spent simply looking for a place to cool off. Is there air conditioning? Do we have enough Diet Coke? Who didn't refill the ice cube tray? Oh, that was me.

Then, a cool front dropped down from Canada to visit, and we have had three of the most perfect summer days one can imagine. Highs just kiss 80, nighttime lows are below 60, making for lovely sleeping weather. Fluffy white clouds graze like sheep in the turquoise blue sky. The gardens are green and lush, as are the lawns--this is why God takes His vacations here.

In some ways, however, it is too much beauty--I can't take it in. Part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the humidity and heat to return. Part of me wants to take these beautiful days in through the pores of my skin, which isn't really possible. There is just no way to grab hold of this beauty and possess it enough so that when it goes, you can feel like you fully appreciated every second of it.

It feels criminal to use these cool days to catch up on things that were impossible to do in the heat. Like sorting laundry, which it was far too hot to do earlier. Cleaning out closets and drawers, ditto. These are days for hanging out at the pool, for wading in lakes, for taking the puppy out to a field and letting him run.

Guess the laundry will just have to wait.