Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Windy Days

It was a windy day, a really windy day. Weather in Georgia is pretty mild when you watch the news. There was a bad tornado in Pensacola, Florida. We were supposed to have a horrible storm last night. What happened was plenty of wind.

I don't know what it is about windy days but I love them. There is so much energy. It puts me in a reflective mood. Today was Wednesday - Senior Citizen Discount day at the grocery stores here. My favorite senior citizen loves to grocery shop. So I got time to reflect. If I could only not be so sleepy when I stop and read.

My big thing today was to look at how we all dress. When it is windy and chilly, we all dress pretty much with what we have. Lots of gray hoodies and jeans and folks my age lost in seventies. I meant to run back in the house and slip out of my Capri jeans with silver sparkles off for a pair of regular jeans. Some of us dress to be covered.

I had on what I call in my mind a clown suit. My sweatshirt looks like a professional business top which it actually is. It was the shoes, cream colored sneakers that look like regular shoes that made the clown suit. I'm one of those women with a big body and long thin legs. I should have worn a black pair of shoes and changed pants.

One man had on a pair of Atlanta Falcon pajama bottoms, a gray t-shirt, and a red pin striped long sleeved shirt worn like a jacket. His gray beard was carefully trimmed and his longish hair was well cut, it was definitely an ensemble. A woman in her seventies had a stylish brown jacket and designer jeans on her slim, hunched frame. We dress like we want to be. We dress like what we have. We dress like where we are in the world.

One man had a pair of jeans, knit top and dark blue dress blazer, the aging rock star look. Nearby was an attractive black male who had an expensive shirt not tucked in. The shirt was made to not be tucked in. He looked so upper middle class. I thought of telling him to tuck his shirt in with a smile. He was clearly in a hurry. No time for nonsense.

My favorite was the young woman in her thirties. Blue sweater, dark pants and calf length boots that are for sale everywhere. They have such a short frame to push winter clothes here.

Heck I had a hard time walking past a pair of boots that were 70 percent off a couple of weeks ago. Maybe that is why I wore a clown suit. But I got to keep my Feng Shui resolution and not buy so much stuff. I do think I need to slow down and pick my clothes a wee better.

I am lucky in that I was born with a satisfied mind. There is a woman I encounter in one of the grocery stores to the point that I converse with her. Today, I ran into her in the restroom and there was only one sink. It was obvious, she has a hand washing ritual. I told her I was not in a hurry which was totally the truth. She knows my mom loves to grocery shop.

The conversation unfolds about her feelings about shopping. The last line still lingers. Her husband smokes and drinks heavily. I know he is disabled and she is working two jobs. Her son recently married and her daughter goes to UGA. I also know she is 56. On the outside looking in, I think. You still have so much. Don't give up.

I do know that our lives get so overloaded. When I was in my twenties, there was a bumper sticker that said "Life is a Bitch". Mentally, I would agree. This point in my life feels like my twenties without as much angst. What doesn't go well, is going to happen.  At least my mind is still good.

When the wind blows so much, the weather is changing rapidly. I remember one good windy day. It had been rainy and cold. Within hours, it was still chilly but the sun was bright with a blue sky filled with puffy fair weather clouds. I loved rushing through the house in the evening as a kid closing windows when a thunderstorm approached.

I grew up in a house that no matter where you stood, you could look out a window. Homes were built for ventilation and to control the heat in summer. Winter was short. You dressed heavily and hunkered down until it passed. Everyone sat in the kitchen where it was warm. I remember heating the bathroom with a bathtub of hot water to bathe. Life was good. I just did not know it at the time.


15 comments:

  1. Windy days for me always seem so much colder. However, I would have enjoyed the outing to see what others were wearing since I'm a people watcher.

    betty

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    1. Nothing better than people watching. So much drama happens n'est pas.

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  2. haha life sure can be a bitch many a day. Windy days can annoy when cold out and if they make the power go out. I hide away, not much people watching on such days.

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    1. It certainly felt cold although the temperature started at 68 and dropped to 64 which would be balmy in Nova Scotia. Cheers, and yes I am bragging about the temperature.

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  3. "born with a satisfied mind..." I love that. It's as if you have Feng Shui already built right in! The only thing I remotely enjoy about windy days is how they sweep out the dust and pollution of the valley streets. Now, I'll take a gentle breeze on any occasion when leaves skip and dance merrily along the roadways;-)
    I'm glad to know you made it through those storms, they seemed pretty serious according to weather warnings. We've had unusually high temps here in southern Arizona, with quite a lot of wind too.

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    1. I've seen those temperatures in Arizona. I had thought of us going to Arizona during January and February. The cold really aggravates my mother's arthritis. Thanks for visiting Diedre.

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  4. It is a mark of youth to not know how good you have it, just as it is the task of older people like us to understand how good we did have it. It was windy here on Monday, and cold. I was glad to be inside!

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    1. True, true, it can always be worse. Of course, you have been a trooper the past year. Good to have you drop by.

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  5. Atlanta Falcon pajama bottoms? Were you at WalMart?

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    1. HaHa, Walmart would be the place. The crazy part is this is an affluent store. The guy was probably an engineer with a healthy six figure salary. But yeh he was channeling a little Walmart attitude. Thanks for coming by Alex.

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  6. Windy days are killer for me because they cause my allergies to act up. :(

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    1. Changes in temperature are what wreck havoc on my sinuses.

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  7. Ann, You are so right that life was good but we didn't know it at the time. It was interesting to read your observations regarding our various forms of packaging. For some it sounds like convenience and comfort but for some the intention sounds like a cover. My favorite is those who dress to express. The wind blows and for some the wind will create damage but I like your attitude that the wind is a way to energize us.

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    1. We did grow up in a nice little town. I never intended to move back but I did. It has gotten quite big. But, the whole economy turns on the Air Force Base.

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  8. Hi Ann,

    Just visualised you in a clown suit! :) Everyone knows it's windy...and yes, life was good and I appreciate the magic of the past, the present.

    Thank you for your article, Ann.

    Gary

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