"All We'll Need is a Pretty Weather Day"

As I type this on my trusty laptop, (which is only missing one key!) I’m surrounded by a clutter of items; picture frames, empty pop bottles, books, and business cards… Actually, what’s alarming is the smattering of electronic devices in the midst of everything else.

Within less than a foot of the laptop, I can easily grab a flash drive, a digital camera, a webcam, an iPod, and a cell phone… Ten years ago… skip that, five years ago, I didn’t have half the junk that I’ve accumulated.  Junk that’s supposed to make life easier…

Okay, I’ll admit, I love my iPod.  I’m sickeningly reliant upon my cell phone.  I start to panic when I go more than half a day without checking my email.  Without all these gizmos and gadgets, life seems a little disconnected.  We’re zoning out with all our electronics, and the craziest part of all this is, it’s happening earlier and earlier… What does an 11 year old do with their own cell phone?  I mean, when I was 11, I think I asked for a doll for Christmas.  (Actually, I asked for a puppy, but that was out of the question…)

Okay, I’m digressing… this is the story that I really wanted to share with you, especially now that it’s getting into autumn again…  Last autumn, I was walking back from class on one of those pretty weather days… the Indian summer days where it’s been freezing all week, and then all of a sudden, the sun comes out.  The red and gold of the leaves look so lovely against the wonderful, clear blue in the sky. 

I’ll be honest; I didn’t notice it at first…Actually, I was listening to my iPod, staring at the ground.  Then I almost got hit in the head with a Frisbee… and all at once, I saw everything.  What struck me most, however, I saw in Risman Plaza. 

There was this little blonde girl, who couldn’t have been older than six.  She was dressed like Cinderella, and she was walking along the ledge outside the bookstore, by the stairs.  She had her arms out like she was a tightrope walker, and she was smiling, laughing really loudly while her Mom just walked beside her to keep her safe…

And I thought, that little girl looks so happy, just in this moment.  And she isn’t playing with some new expensive toy or talking on a cell phone.  She isn’t trying to act like a grown-up.  She isn’t second-guessing herself or walling herself off into her own world.  She’s really here; really taking advantage of today.  And I thought, I hope this little girl always remembers today, and how all she needed was her Mommy and a little stone ledge.  And I hoped that pretty weather days and princess dresses would always be enough to make that little girl happy. 

And I still have hope that down in each one of us is the little girl or boy, walking along the ledge like we did when we were kids and we thought were invincible.  One day, we’ll throw down our iPods and cell phones, and know that it’s enough that we’re here.  And all we’ll need is a pretty weather day to feel happy and accomplished.