When the air is hot, and the wind is strong, I am transported back at least four decades.
It is usually only smells that have that power: freshly-cut grass brings me back to Sunday afternoons on Hunt Road, fifty or more years ago; a certain whiff of soap can evoke the spirit of my mother, when I was a small child; sometimes the smell of baby powder lifts me to a time and place when I was a young mother, with small children of my own.
But give me a strong summer breeze, and I am a teen-ager again.
I want to ride in fast cars with all the windows down, music playing at full volume.
I want to head for city lights or country roads, just for the change, the movement and distance.
I want to swim by moonlight, then walk the beach and count the stars.
I want to sleep in a tent open to the moving air.
There is a strong wind blowing today.
Not actually being a teen-ager again, my activities were much more mundane.
I walked the garden this morning, picked radishes and strawberries, and pulled a few weeds.
Went to work at the hardware store.
Picked up a few necessities: dish detergent, dog food, mosquito repellent.
Stopped to say “hello” to Sue, at her gallery.
Washed towels, and hung them on the clothesline.
Pulled a few more weeds in the garden, emptied the kitchen scraps into the compost bin, washed the dishes and tidied the kitchen.
Just a normal day…except for the wind.
That feeling of being at the beginning, with endless possibilities lying ahead…that sense of hope and chance and wonder stayed with me, and kept a smile on my face all day.
Just a normal, exceptional day.
Good things come in on a strong summer breeze!
cindyricksgers 