LIKE A BLUE THREAD

A Little Sugar In My Bowl

Bees buzz over the anemones. Clouds darken the afternoon. A breeze blows across the kitchen and continues through the hallway, flitting out of windows and enveloping the house in its softness. Sara lies on the couch and turns the television to the news channel. A print of Frederick Lord Leighton, framed in gold leaf, hangs over the sofa. She rolls over and glances at it, the serenity of the painting unknown to her.

Flaming June, tempting, lazy, and content, peacefully dreaming in your coral dress, have you ever known despair?

The wind refreshes her body, wired and warm from the escapades to the beach. Even the veins under her skin have darkened. Lying on the blanket, reapplying lotion, she listens to strangers and gets lost in their worlds, the trips to the ocean unraveling the thread that barely holds her together.

09.05.2020 — Saturday

It is the last weekend in September, and I have not gone to the beach. What is up with that? How did it happen? I am a beach bum. Is it the COVID concern or the distancing + isolating I have been practicing for years?

how did i get from there to here?

I ask Siri if it will rain tomorrow, Labor Day Sunday. It doesn’t look like it’s going to rain tomorrow. =) Funny because being at the beach while it rains is one of my childhood memories, and I have wanted to experience it again, yet haven’t.

Amazed that the beach towels and blanket bin are still put away, I pull them out. After hemming & hedging, I pick out two towels (in case my husband goes with me), a beautifully faded king-size duvet cover I use as a beach blanket, plus the canvas bag to carry it all. Which bathing suit may take longer to pick. Should probably throw out a couple, so I’ll leave it for later.* Hmmm. Should do it early and get it done. Just stinking do it — my go-to motto lately at 56, thought 57, but that’s getting ahead of myself. Endeavoring to stay in the Present.

*When I went looking for them (not in a drawer, still in a bin too!) I saw that I had already gotten rid of most of them, so picking one should be easy.