At Dawn

Silence was broken along with sleep by the magnificence of a summer thunderstorm.  Typically I would have been wide awake before the start but for the fact I am on summer vacation and stayed up quite late last night.  My eyelids flew open like a roller blind snapped too fast and let go.  Thunderstorms, lightning and crashing booms do not bother me in fact I love a good solid summer thunderstorm with down pours of which this was one of them.  At the same time my eyelids popped open I swung my feet from the bed to the floor and hit the ground scurrying to my enclosed back porch where every single tall window I had left wide open last night.  I got the last window closed just as the wind came up and the rain started pouring down and blowing 'round.

Summer in the midwest is special offering up the best for all senses.  The long rows of tall green corn waving in the breezes, the roadside wild flowers of purples, whites and yellows with a few oranges and pinks thrown in, the little billows of dust kicked up on a serene gravel country road and of course those magnificent thunderstorms that burst forth from unstable and often humid aire.  When I finally do move from here (and I will) these are a few of the things I shall miss; so for now I take pictures as I absorb the peacefulness of nature in the Midwest.

I remember long long ago summers spent on my Great Aunt and Great Uncle's farm.  Swinging on the tree swing in the afternoons and on the porch swing with my Great Uncle in the evenings watching the sun go down across the fields as the horses stood at the fence almost like they were waving at us.  The wrap around porch was a great setting for many imaginative plays and of course the railroad stories my Great Uncle told were the best.

I am humbled and grateful for so many experiences that have allowed me to appreciate the universe in all its glory.  We oft miss out on the grandness becuz we think what we do is far more important than drinking in the actual experiences and the nature that surrounds us.  Lately I have been reminded by nature itself that living is nothing without a humble appreciation for everything and all the lessons learned that then allow more experiences making this life a fully loaded experience.

Yes I will move and leave this beautiful scene called the midwest but realize that what comes up next will be made even grander for having the experiences here and now.  There is an appreciation that allows the perspective to be receptive toward anything that comes next becuz what has come now has been fully experienced with  humble gratefulness.

Have a great day on purpose Dear Friends.   Pass smiles for miles as will I.
LOVE no matter what!