I am one of Those People who requires a ridiculous amount of time to myself. Some people might say that this is the result of being a high-strung freak. I prefer to think of myself as charmingly eccentric. At any rate, most days when I come home from work I go for a walk in the neighborhood, because a 45-minute walk results in the same amount of come-downingness as would a couple solid hours of staring blankly at the Food Network on television. Not only am I charmingly eccentric, I'm also all about the time management.
Yesterday after I got home I thought I would have to forego the walk due to the weather. I don't mind the occasional droplet of rain, but nothing quashes the recuperative powers of a good walk like being pelted with precipitation and ruining your 'do. But The Mister encouraged me to go for a walk, and after observing that the sky to the west was clear and sunny, I determined that any danger of serious rainfall had passed.
I wasn't a hundred yards from the house when it started to pour. Clearly, my meteorlogical acumen had let me down. Fortunately for me though, I live in an old neighborhood with old houses. And that means lots of old trees. I found shelter under a big maple tree and marveled at my ability to use foliage to keep dry. I watched the rain fall from a sunny sky, and admired the way the sunlight made the raindrops look like glass beads on the leaves. After a couple minutes were spent considering screwy weather patterns and how they affect nice girls who are just trying to take a walk for Pete's sake, I began to feel a little self-conscious. The tree I was standing under was in someone's yard. A stranger's yard. What if they thought I was stalking them? I couldn't bear the thought that someone might find me psychologically unbalanced, although in retrospect it's interesting to note that the thought of someone regarding me as a fool who literally didn't have the sense to come in from the rain didn't faze me in the slightest. Anyway, since I didn't want to be labeled the Crazy Neighborhood Lady Who Stands Around Under Trees That Aren't Hers, I decided that I could balance the need to appear socially acceptable and the desire to stay dry by changing trees of shelter every so often. So every 30 seconds or so I'd run down or across the street to stand under a different tree until the rain stopped. I was darting around that street like a cracked-out squirrel, but at least no one could have possibly thought I was weird, right?
After a few minutes, the rain moved on to the east and I was free to resume my walking. I glanced around at the glistening trees, and over my shoulder I saw a very bright, very pronounced rainbow. I stood in the middle of the road staring up at the sky -- once again looking decidedly normal, I'm sure -- and noted that at the end of the rainbow was none other than my friendly neighborhood Harris Teeter. Not every supermarket gets an endorsement like that. It would appear that I'm not the only being who appreciates their fine array of gourmet cheeses.
Yesterday after I got home I thought I would have to forego the walk due to the weather. I don't mind the occasional droplet of rain, but nothing quashes the recuperative powers of a good walk like being pelted with precipitation and ruining your 'do. But The Mister encouraged me to go for a walk, and after observing that the sky to the west was clear and sunny, I determined that any danger of serious rainfall had passed.
I wasn't a hundred yards from the house when it started to pour. Clearly, my meteorlogical acumen had let me down. Fortunately for me though, I live in an old neighborhood with old houses. And that means lots of old trees. I found shelter under a big maple tree and marveled at my ability to use foliage to keep dry. I watched the rain fall from a sunny sky, and admired the way the sunlight made the raindrops look like glass beads on the leaves. After a couple minutes were spent considering screwy weather patterns and how they affect nice girls who are just trying to take a walk for Pete's sake, I began to feel a little self-conscious. The tree I was standing under was in someone's yard. A stranger's yard. What if they thought I was stalking them? I couldn't bear the thought that someone might find me psychologically unbalanced, although in retrospect it's interesting to note that the thought of someone regarding me as a fool who literally didn't have the sense to come in from the rain didn't faze me in the slightest. Anyway, since I didn't want to be labeled the Crazy Neighborhood Lady Who Stands Around Under Trees That Aren't Hers, I decided that I could balance the need to appear socially acceptable and the desire to stay dry by changing trees of shelter every so often. So every 30 seconds or so I'd run down or across the street to stand under a different tree until the rain stopped. I was darting around that street like a cracked-out squirrel, but at least no one could have possibly thought I was weird, right?
After a few minutes, the rain moved on to the east and I was free to resume my walking. I glanced around at the glistening trees, and over my shoulder I saw a very bright, very pronounced rainbow. I stood in the middle of the road staring up at the sky -- once again looking decidedly normal, I'm sure -- and noted that at the end of the rainbow was none other than my friendly neighborhood Harris Teeter. Not every supermarket gets an endorsement like that. It would appear that I'm not the only being who appreciates their fine array of gourmet cheeses.
1 Comments:
The neighbor kids might take to calling you "Boo Radley" like in "To Kill A Mockingbird." He had a fancy for hiding behind trees, if memory serves.
Charmingly eccentric....I like that. I'm going to borrow that one.
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