I know…the phrase is technically “Red sky at night…sailors delight.” This evening’s sky was not quite red, but a pleasant pink that certainly did not disappoint. When I look at this picture, I have doubts that I was actually there.
This last week has seen me spending more time outside on my balcony. I am on the highest floor of our building (3rd floor). “Top of the world, Ma!” I have been enjoying easy evenings enjoying the fresh air, watching my neighbors working on projects in their garages, come and go from the building, and the kids riding around on their bikes or playing together on the grass below.
The increase in my outside time started with a nice walk Saturday morning. I then visited a home improvement store to buy some odds and ends for my apartment like special cleaning supplies, 3M Command hooks for outdoors so I could hang a string of lights from the roof of my balcony, and look at the outdoor furniture.
I have always had either plastic chairs or those collapsible chairs you can carry in a bag on my apartment balconies. When I have visited other people’s homes (not apartments), they have had chairs with cushions or a nice outdoor furniture set. I thought for my birthday, I would treat myself to some nice chairs.
I found a pair that were on sale. The chairs were wider than the others there with a light grey square cushion for the seat and a matching pillow for the backrest. They were the first chairs I tried and was sold almost immediately. I tried another chair but didn’t have that “ahh…” moment this set gave me. They were part of a set, but I guess someone wanted the loveseat and low coffee table from the set more than the chairs. Their loss, my gain. After some planning, vehicle interior rearrangement, and an extra trip home, I was able to assist the nice gentleman at Lowe’s in loading the chairs in my Ford Escape.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When the temperature is forecasted to be 95 degrees Fahrenheit and you leave the chairs in your vehicle for most the morning and afternoon as you rearrange your home to bring the chairs in, be prepared for some hot metal. It was a little uncomfortable carrying them up to my apartment (thank goodness for elevators), but I brought them in on my own.
Every night since then, I have been enjoying a different view than what a TV could give me. Tonight’s show was pretty nice. Last Sunday, I spent some time attaching 3M Command hooks designed for outdoor use on the roof of my balcony. I hung a string of lights from the hooks and realized that the light set I purchased was too bright. I felt like I was lighting the entire parking lot. I purchased a milder set of lights on Tuesday night and am much happier.
Last night, I wanted to text my Mom at 10:30 pm and tell her I was reliving a happy memory from my younger years. Dad had just completed building a deck outside our home as part of the new addition he constructed. My parents purchased a set of plastic chairs and a matching table. We would sit outside in the morning, afternoon, and night. Company would come over and we would entertain outside on the patio. We enjoyed it a lot, but my favorite part was just sitting on the patio at night with my family at home in our small town, looking at stars in the sky.
While I can’t see many stars in the sky at night in Fargo, I can at least see more than I would in a larger city. It is hard to describe the tranquility of sitting outside, breathing in the cooler night air, and just doing nothing. In our world with constant visual and audio stimulation, we need to take more time to just be, and do nothing. We must make and take time to let our minds and bodies rest and reset, to imagine and daydream, to breathe and enjoy the natural visual and audio stimulation of this little third rock from the Sun we call Earth.
Sarah Roonie 