In the moment

Saturday was quite the greyest, wettest day in many weeks.

But I have a backlog of skies that I’ve been meaning to share. Sky-gazing is one of life’s great pleasures, in my view. By sheer good luck, 8 years ago, I acquired a property that offers a wide open view and I have been enjoying this free art show ever since.

For to me, that’s what it is, – a blend of colour and light that changes by the moment.

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Some of these images may seem ordinary, but think of those whose lives are confined to cities of high rise buildings, or nursing homes…

Any number of people around the globe have no view of the sky.

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It is something we mostly take for granted. From when I was a little girl, my parents moved around a lot and later on, working for an airline, I often took advantage of reduced rate travel.

Looking out at clouds was something I did all the time until disability forced me to give up travel. I was living then in Washington State, surrounded by mountains. I could certainly see the sky, but comparatively small portions of it.

At the time, it wasn’t something I thought about. I’d moved to Washington in part because I loved mountains and I never considered that there might be a trade-off.

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Finding myself retired rather sooner than expected, I soon involved myself in fostering and re-homing cats, which is how I came to know Grant. He is from South Africa and he often spoke of yearning for open skies.

It seems strange to me now that I didn’t fully understand. Perhaps it was because of my own experience with horizons. Until I came to America aged 16, I’d lived in cities, always surrounded by buildings. Central Long Island, which became my home for the next several decades, was mostly flat and not yet very developed. The school I attended had a vast playing field. Standing out there, I could see nothing in any direction to mark the horizons.

A strange sensation came over me. I felt exposed, unsafe almost, as if a great hand might pluck me from the planet.

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It was not something to worry about and I dismissed it. In retrospect, it is obvious that it was simply a matter of finding myself in an unfamiliar environment. Although I had moved around a lot, I had never before been anywhere like that open playing field.

So when Grant spoke of open horizons, I understood, but couldn’t connect to the feeling of loss he experienced.

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Moving away from the mountains when we came to live Upstate New York, I expected Grant to celebrate the big skies here. What I did not expect was to find myself so delighted, as I’d not realised that I missed them.

Driving away from JFK and out into the open country was like some sort of renewal. Worn out from the overnight flight and weeks of packing and worrying, we were both exhausted, yet as we drove north, we were like a couple of overjoyed kids.

Surely we must simply be punch drunk with fatigue? I kept expecting to come down with a bump, but that was 8 years ago and it has not happened yet.

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Leaving Washington, I thought perhaps I would miss the mountains. As much as I still love them, strangely I don’t.

If there is anything I miss, it is having proximity to the ocean. Although London, where I was born, is not on the coast, nowhere in England is very far from the sea and after leaving England I lived always very close to either the Atlantic or the Pacific Ocean.

These days, I am approximately 300 miles from the coast, which is a little far to go to stick a toe in the sea or to walk along the beach on a winter’s day. I often miss the sound of waves crashing on the shore and the call of gulls.

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But if you miss something, it means you were lucky enough to once have enjoyed it. Isn’t it better to at least have memories than to never experience something wonderful?

It’s a bit like living with pets. Ultimately, you go through the pain of loss, yet you cannot imagine never having shared your life with them.

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Nothing lasts forever.

Enjoy what you have while you can and afterwards treasure the memory.

Easy to say.

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With Fall just beginning, I have been thinking how I shall miss the greenness of the landscape and the comings and goings of all our summer visitors who will be leaving us soon.

But this is something I experience with the change of every season.

For every goodbye, there’s a hello. I am a great fan of Fall, and Winter is my favourite season despite the one or two drawbacks it brings.

(Christmas and New Year.)

In only a matter of weeks, I’ll be bemoaning its passing!

It really is best to live in the moment.

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