Quiet Moments

Last night, I took a walk in the bathwater-warm air. The kids were in bed, the kitchen was clean, the dishes were done, Al was watching TV. It was just me and the crickets, out for a stroll. The sky was salmon pink, and it was an all-around, perfect night. That is what summer is all about ... the ability to go outdoors without spending 15 minutes buttoning up sweaters and jackets. No boots, no coats. No accessories spare a pair of flipflops.

I am vowing to do this more in the coming months: take time for myself in the quiet hour just before darkness. Drink a glass of wine on my deck with just the string of white lights in my poplar tree for illumination. Soak in the summer. Bath in the warm, quiet air of a Wisconsin evening. Listen to the low hum of the highway across the potato field and watch the soft flickering of fireflies as they zoom across my backyard.

Now that, my friends, is living.