Expanding My Senses
I sat at my kitchen table and looked out into my backyard through the window. I’ve looked out this window a million times it feels like, but I’ve only ever done so when I needed to look for something; whether that be my dog after I feel she’s been outside on her own too long or searching for the source of a strange noise. It looks like it always does, though. Flat grass, with my neighbor’s yards in clear view. I’ve seen a lot of yards- this one is hardly the most exciting one. It looks a bit dreary out thanks to the darker sky and the bare trees. I can hear the wind rattling the house and see it shake the trees outside. Even though I can’t feel the wind yet, it’s probably freezing. There’s no one in sight.
As I step outside, I can confirm that it is freezing. I feel as if I’m going to be blown over by the wind. It feels like a person trying to push me down. It smells cold too. Cold always smells like the absence of plant life- just a sharp scent of things freezing. It also hurts to breathe in too deeply. I see about the same that I did when I was inside- not much. However, I can hear some neighbors down the street. They’re speaking loudly to hear each other over the wind. It’s not a good day to be outside. Sometimes the outside tricks you on cold days into thinking it’s a warm day: the sun will be shining and the trees might look alive despite having lost all their leaves. It can convince you that maybe your weather app isn’t completely accurate about it being absolutely freezing. Today isn’t one of those days. Today makes me appreciate the fact that if I wanted to warm back up, all I’d have to do is step back into my house and drink some hot coffee.
