Yesterday, massive storms moved through the midwest and ended up on our doorstep, along with and at the same time as the twenty other states that line the eastern seaboard. Massive. The snow started falling long before the Accu-forecasts and I was not happy. I trust my weather people. Especially the cute one on the local station I watch, loyally. I was dissappointed, once again. I sat watching the snow fall, looking quite beautiful through our new front windows, although I hate a lot of snow. I lit some candles and just enjoyed the winter scene. I get a phone call from Little Jose, he needs my help again with his English course at school. We set a time for mentoring and I take a nap, this is perfect sleeping weather. I wake up, unrested. I have been tossing and turning again, lately and my dreams are vivid and disturbing. I don't want to sleep anymore, I don't want to see what my mind conjures up when I am no longer in control.
As I get ready, he is out front, early. I quick throw on my workout clothes, I figured I'd get him to drive me to the gym on his way back to evening classes. We read the essays and discuss the questions. I am not happy with his teacher for grading him so badly on his last test. The questions demand a subjective answer, how can one's opinion be wrong. I also think he's a bit out of his element. English is not his native language, no matter how quickly he has learned and grasped our tongue and the essays are a bit wordy even for me. And I have been known to enjoy a dry, dusty tome or two in my day. We finish up and make our way out of his building, only to slip and slid, grabbing each other to keep balance. The sidewalk, the street, the car is covered in a layer of ice. The snow had long ago stopped, turned to rain but now, with the coming dark, all that water is freezing.
He got me to the gym without accident and sped off. I rang him and told him that he wasn't funny. As I worked out, he rings me back from the school, class was canceled and he passed several bad accidents along the way. He offers to come collect me and I accept. I finished up my workout and went to the grocery store to pick up a few things.
Back home, I listen as the storm intensifies and becomes a nor'easter, blowing the rain up against those same new windows with a certain violence known only to those who live along the ocean.
Chunkie and I sit and watch telly and then we wander off to our bedrooms, to get warm and snug under the covers of our respective beds.
My dreams, once again, keep me from any true rest.
I wake to change. The weather turns on a dime, the rains stop mid-morning and Chunkie and I decide on brunch at our favourite haunt, Brittany's Cafe. It was actually rather nice on our way there. By the time we were done, the walk home was a different story. The temperatures fell ten degrees and we made our way quickly back to our flat. We did our usual chores and Chunkie decided on a nap. I, feeling restless, made an entry on the computer and made the decision to walk down to the club and pick up my check. By now, the sun was shining and it looked simply spectacular outside.
The winds were blowing but, the temperature was manageable and I took my route down the boardwalk, as I am usually wont to do. I marvel at the low-level clouds as they are blowing out to sea like an armada of ships, sailing with haste to free the fair Helen from the clutches of Paris in ancient Troy. The sea, the mighty Atlantic, is churning with a violence all it's own. The waves, huge and cresting farther out than normal, the spray of salt and water filling the air, the foam gathering along the shore line. This, my friends, is why I live here, to witness the power of Mother Nature in her tempest glory, as land, air and sea meet and do battle.
I breathe the cleansed air and let the chill winds play across my face as I watch from the safe confines of the boardwalk. I notice, several times, that I am the only one out there, for at least a mile. I think to myself that yes, I am all alone on Valentine's Day. Alone, on the boardwalk, under the blue skies, in bustling Atlantic City. Alone.
After picking up my check and saying hullo to everyone there, I start my walk home and what a difference, once more the weather turned on a dime and now, the sky is stone grey, where just minutes ago it was blue and bright, the rain is slight but stinging, as the breeze that was so temperate before is now battering me with it's small pinprick droplets. I still face the weather and walk all the way home, through the city, this time, letting the buildings and over-head walkways shield me as much as they could.
Time to get ready, the gym is calling me. And the skies are once more blue.
What a difference, indeed.
