CLOUDY

The weather around here lately has been a bit dreary.  Rain, wind, more rain, more wind.  Clouds galore.

I know people always talk about their being a "silver lining"....but who says you need that?

I say look at the beauty in the clouds.

You don't always need a ray of sunshine in your day to see something pretty.  You only have to be looking for something pretty.

As a storm builds, and rages, and then moves on, there is quite a story in the process.  It appeals to each of our senses.  Have you ever noticed how different the air smells after a significant rain?  Have you ever been startled awake by a loud boom of thunder or a very bright clap of a lightning strike?  The wind blows so much at you that you can taste the weather, whether you'd like to or not.  And you feel it, wet, blustery, and intense.

And then sometimes after a storm you see a rainbow.

And sometimes you don't.  You just see dark gray clouds that are illuminated by either the sun's triumphant return, or the determined lightning off in the distance.

If you have the ability, the sense of appreciation for nature and the realization that beauty comes in all forms, you can enjoy either the rainbow or the clouds.

Here in Michigan there is a saying: "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes - it will change."  I've always said Michigan is the only place where you can be sun burnt and frostbitten in the same week.  Maybe that is why it is so difficult for us when the clouds take up a week long residence.  We just aren't really used to them staying so long. 

There is much about clouds to be grateful for.  Precipitation, namely, which nourishes the Earth, but then in a stunning horrid twist of fate can also crumble homes and businesses when Mother Nature unleashes herself. 

How awesome clouds become when they begin that scary swirling and then cooperate into one of the most terrifying forces known to man: the tornado.  And we've all heard how our neighbors down south have been affected by the destruction of a tornado this week.  So yes, I'm grateful for just the clouds.  I find them beautiful in their dreary, lingering, more peaceful state. 

And best of all, I only had to look out my front door to see them.

CHARM

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the

charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." - Marcel Proust

My cousin's daughter MacKenzie is just shy of five years old.  Having a conversation with her should include an admission price and popcorn, because you're bound to be entertained.  It would be worth every penny.  MacKenzie is funny, smart, kind, and just look at her, she's gorgeous.



This is how part of our conversation went:

MacKenzie: You're hair is red!

Me: Yes I know...do you like it?

MacKenzie: Yeah!  It's like Ariel's hair!

Me: (Assuming she's talking about a girl at school.) Who is Ariel?

MacKenzie: You know, that girl that lives under the water.

She could have said, "The Little Mermaid", but she thinks of her first as a GIRL, who just happens to live under the water.  That's part of MacKenzie's charm.  It made me realize, this little girl has the potential to go so far, not because of how pretty she will certainly be, but because of how great of a personality she has.  We all know someone who is drop dead gorgeous, but lacking in the charm department.  Maybe they are unkind, or ungrateful, or any other "un-" word.  We like them a little less because they waste their beauty by having an ugly heart.  How sad.

What makes MacKenzie even more charming is that she doesn't even know how cute and awesome she is.  Here's a little more of our conversation:

Me: MacKenzie, how did you get to be so pretty?

MacKenzie: Oh, I was just dressed this way.

She sees herself as pretty when she's wearing pretty clothes, but she sees herself first as MacKenzie.  How awesome is that?  She's got the whole package.  And I'm lucky enough to be related to her.

Mostly, I'm happy for that half hour I was able to spend with MacKenzie. She makes my heart happy, and I hope I do the same for her.