August 18th Entry

August 18th,
Well its been raining all evening and this morning. The wind kicked up pretty strong over the night, weather station said it was gusts up to 30 knots. Today it’s supposed to be a little ‘better’. Better is a perspective word. I love it when it’s cold, windy, and a little rainy. It has this special effect on the light. Sunlight becomes diffused and filtered. The sea becomes the color of steel, the islands dark olives, the sky a smokey gray interspersed with deeper carbon colored thunderheads. Every now and then shafts of pure sunshine break through the edges of the clouds and pierce clear to the sea lighting it in little pockets of heavens unadulterated joy.
For a short time in the morning, and later in the afternoon, it appeared as if the skies were clearing and this low pressure system would pass, but each successive cloud bank tunneled in through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and brought more wind and cold. The day passed by agonizingly slow, I found myself continuously watching the clock only to see the minute hand had progressed but a few ticks along the dial. A part of me is anxious to start the next leg of my journey and return one day sooner, however, I want to soak up every moment of my time here so that it may carry me over until the next time I return. I do not want to rush it, for then I will lose it and wish for it back, I dont want it to slow either, because then I would lose my ‘precious moments’. Short bits of time that are so spectacular in their shortness that I relieve the rest of my life.
The sun eventually graces us for it’s final hoorah during it’s departure. So absolute were the colors across the whole expanse of sky, and so complete was my rapture that I did not feel the start of the rain or its accumulation on my bare skin. I stare at the crystal gems shining brightly on my leg, their coldness that they bring is barely registering within me, nor do their heated cousins originating from hidden tear ducts and running down my cheeks. I cry, just to cry, I cry for pure joy and elation, I cry for memories of my grandfather, I cry for blessed opportunities, I cry silently and bury my hands and chin into Percy’s soft fur. The warmth of the sky is quickly receding and I imagine it being sucked into him with every breath. I think of all the love the two of them have brought me, how many times they have forgiven me for my mistakes, how they want to snuggle close every night, and how resilient and adaptable they are. IF anyone ever wants to see pure unfiltered love, all one has to do is watch a child and a dog grow up together. It’s as if dogs know what we have failed to learn as a species, life is way to short not to love, be loved and be joyful, every... single... day.