Things we love ~ my column from Sunday's paper

Among the clouds

When I was a kid, I used to lie on my back on the small grassy knoll near our house in West Pratt and
look at the sky on warm autumn days.

I took time to look at each passing cotton-candy cloud to determine what they looked like.

The longer I pondered, the more interesting they became. I saw tall sailing ships, dragons and dogs. My favorite thing to find hidden in the clouds was wild horses with flowing manes and feathery tails.

Some people probably thought it a waste of time, but I think it built my imagination muscle.

All I know is that I loved doing it, and still do, but I rarely take the time these days.

I started thinking about this today when the idea for this column eased into my mind like the morning sun peeking through a veil of fog.

Why is it that when I get older, I tend to find more time to schedule, plan, and work, but find less time to do the things I love?

I’m paraphrasing the motivational speaker Jim Rohn, when I say I’m spending too much time making a living and not enough time making a life.

There are so many things I love but never get around to doing. Sometimes I wonder if I’m too old, and sometimes I worry that someone will think I’m stupid.

Every time I dance, I always feel like I look goofy, but on the dance floor, people are lost in the music...in the moment. They could care less how I look.

People love to dance, but we can’t seem to find the time to go.

Jilda and I found time to do one of our favorite things when we visited our friends Wes and Deidra this past weekend. We had scheduled a gig in south Alabama at Just Folk Coffee House in Elba and we spent the weekend with them.

Deidra is a marvelous cook and she'd whipped up a batch of Slutty Brownies (not sure where the name came from) for us to enjoy during our visit.

On Saturday night after the gig, we got to their house around 9 p.m. and she asked if anyone wanted a Slutty Brownie and some ice cream.

My waist is expanding at a rate greater than the national debt, and dessert is the last thing I need, but I couldn’t say no.

She heated the brownies in the microwave oven and then scooped a generous helping of vanilla ice cream on top.

I closed my eyes and leaned down close to smell the aroma of warm chocolate and roasted nuts mixed with the ice cream.

When is the last time you ate something so decadent that it made you giggle?

If Jilda had not been there with me, I would have felt like I was cheating on her.

When we get to the end of our lives, I doubt we'll fret much about work we left undone, business ventures we missed out on, or that we had to let our belt loops out an extra notch now and then, but I would not be surprised if we remembered the fun times we’ve had with people we love.