Walk Around

I smell bad. I smell really, really bad. And I love it!

Today it’s hot and clear and beautiful. It’s probably 80 or more. The breeze is blowing around and making the fan in the bed room turn. I’ve had a glorious day.

I woke up late and finished the laundry. I wrote in my journal. I went and bought some hanging plants for the back. I made a delicious, fresh chopped salad with eggs and apples and onions. I walked to the grocery and bought produce. I made up hamburger patties to freeze. And I took a walk around the neighborhood.

Fat arms look better tan, so I shamelessly wore a strappy tank top and cropped pants. Brazen, I know. I put my greasy, two day old hair all the way up so my back would benefit from the sun. I got a piece of gum and a Kleenex (trademark) and set forth. I walked down the green space path towards the park. I saw several groups of little bitty kids digging around and one little girl in a pink dress and bike helmet yelled from the hill, “Hello!” and waved an enthusiastic greeting to me.

At the park was a teenaged boy baseball game, with parents and siblings sprawled all over in lawn chairs. Past the game was a beautiful, sporty gal trying to fly her kite. Her boyfriend across the field was laughing at her. A gorgeous young man flew by on a mountain bike, shirtless.

As I rounded the corner to the play area, there was a group of boys and dads. They were clustered together by the trashcans. All the boys had white somethings in their hands. As I got closer I saw they had each fashioned a blow gun out of PVC pipes, wildly pieced together in bends and turns. In their hands were sandwich baggies full of marshmallows. The dads were positively giddy, grinning at me as I pasted. “I’ll be your ammo man,” one declared. “Thunk,” and a marshmallow whacked up against the metal can. “Ha, ha, ha. That was great!”

It was hilarious.

Then I moved on to my favorite part of the walk. Behind the tennis courts and over by the stream. It was flowing pretty well, after a week of rain. The water sounded wonderful. The wind brought wet grass smell and tree blossom to me. My hair tendrils flew around and stuck to my lip gloss.

Now I’m home, reddening from the sun, smelling of dirt in sweat and old sandal feet. I’m gooey and earthy and sun baked, and I couldn’t be happier.

Outside is so lovely when you need it. It’s so fresh and real and wonderful.