April 25 I Had A Moment

There are 1440 minutes in a day. You can try to enjoy them all, but realistically they all can't be special moments. That is why having a moment is so important. First of all, you must realize at that particular moment that you are having a moment. Secondly, time must slow down or stop for you which is perfect because it makes the moment last longer. Lastly and most importantly, the rest of the world doesn't exist for that moment. It is almost like an out of body experience where you are looking down at yourself amazed at the incredible joy you are experiencing. Here are the details of my moment. We took the dogs to Central Beach early in the morning because it was supposed to be 80 degrees again today. It was already starting to warm up by 8am. After the quick walk through the woods, Oslo & I went up a sand dune to get to the beach, Chrissy & Fluff (the two old ladies) took the paved path. Once on the beach we walked toward the west end of the beach. Along the way Fluffy & Oslo ran into the lake and I took off my shoes and rolled up my jeans while walking along the shore. We reached the rocks that block off the west end of the beach and decided to rest there for awhile. Fluff laid down, Oslo sat upright in his usual "on guard" position. I sat on waters edge on a sand cliff about 2 feet high with my feet in the water. Facing out across the lake, only the sound of the surf in my ears, with the waves slowly rolling in and covering my feet momentarily before retreating, I had my moment. The long Chicago winter spent with multiple layers of clothing on everyday was on my mind and it felt great to sit there in jeans and a t-shirt with my feet in the water. I was watching the ducks float over the waves and thinking about the quiet solitude of the lake so full of life, mystery and adventure. It ended with Chrissy yelling, "Oslo wants you to run him up that dune." Even though my blissful moment was only a minute or two, it seemed like an eternity at the time and I can still smile reliving it in my mind. Of course, reality came crashing down on me. I ran Oslo up that dune, about half way up, I collapsed onto the sand unable to breathe. I finally caught my breath and walked to the top before running back down. That's when I saw the sky turning black and the thunder starting to scare the shit out of Fluffy. On the way back to the car she ran faster than she has in years. In typical Chicago fashion, a promising day went to shit weatherwise. Thunderstorms rolled through all day long and the temperature dropped into the 40's. I didn't care, I still had my moment.