One summer in between college semesters, I lived with a family as their nanny, and they had horses. Every day, we went to the barn to take care of them and ride. My favorite thing to do was take them out into the cotton fields and race-- what an exhilarating experience! The fresh, earthy smell of the plants, the warm sun and the breeze on your face as you galloped down row after row... The horses would feel it too, and kick up their heels sometimes and make you laugh out loud just for the joy of it. It was one of those magic summers. You never know when those times are happening that they are some of the best in your life- you don't realize that until it's over, and you can't go back. I think age has something to do with it-- you're so immortal in those times. So unfettered. You're as young and green as the spring grass.
But all things have their season. Cotton blooms and falls, grass fades, and the sun sets on all things. What makes those moments so magical though, is that it seems to freeze in your memory, like a still shot from the movie of your life. It's a place you can return to time and again, for rest, for an escape, for whatever reason you need.
It's such a small thing really- just a memory. Just a few words on a piece of paper. Yet, the uttering of them, brings the image into vivid life, and sends me reeling through cotton fields once more.
The mind is a beautiful thing, isn't it?
Have a good weekend, everybody.