Partly Cloudy

Today I am grateful for a closed mouth when words aren't needed or sought. I am also grateful for a quiet morning with cool air and a slower pace.

This was the view from our front yard on Friday evening:


The picture only captures part of the effect. It was an odd cloud formation, moving and changing quickly. It didn't lead to much other than a little lightning and a few sprinkles, but it grabbed my attention when I stepped outside.

The rest of the weekend brought both clouds and sun and I spent plenty of time out in both watching my son Sam's baseball team. I like sun and blue sky, but I appreciate clouds and shade too. Especially this time of the year when clouds and shade have a cooling effect that midday sun and blue sky definitely don't.

I was considering calling this post "Cloudy With a Chance of Gratitude" but it sounded already familiar. Sure enough, I wrote a post with this title last July. Here is that post from July 10, 2014. With over a thousand posts, themes and ideas recur. But each time I am at a little different place, seeing life from a little different perspective.

I have had some of those figurative clouds hanging over my head lately. Some are created by real fears and worries. Others form when I forget to accept life on life's terms. Reality is that life can't always be sunny. The best we can hope for is often partly cloudy.  But I will take that. Partly cloudy gives me perspective. Partly cloudy also means partly sunny. Partly cloudy can mean less glare and more clarity.

Clouds come and go. Some will dump a storm of emotions on us. Others are high and fluffy and pass by uneventfully. Clouds change the light with which we see our life, teaching us about perspective. Teaching us to look for the good in the light that is currently surrounding us.

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