#85- Shade

We've been riding a minor, spring heat wave here in Ottawa which would be the great if I had air conditioning at my house.

Instead I must enjoy the warm, sunny days choosing whether to slowly melt outside or inside. At least I have a choice, right?

But then there is a third option: bask in the early summer days while sitting beneath a giant oak tree in the park, its shade creating the most comfortable of environments.

I chose that option a couple days ago and sat in the shade in the park, reading a good book and enjoying the blue skies without being roasted by them.

Shade has saved me a few times before. Last summer I was working at the golf course and the heat in the early afternoon would become almost unbearable, but getting that sweet, sweet assignment to tend to the trees meant an afternoon with slightly cooler temperatures.

Shade provides refuge, comfort and a reprieve from the sun without having to waste a beautiful day inside or freezing your fingers off in an over air conditioned building (that's when irony isn't so funny). Shade gives us a place to relax, a perfect picnic spot, a reading nook or a nap area. In short, shade can be whatever you want it to be except boiling hot.

So I am grateful for shade. I am grateful for the trees or awnings or the other things that create shade. I am grateful for way shade allows me to enjoy the summer at the height of its heat without suffering from heat stroke or sun burn. You can have your air conditioning and your fancy fans, but I'll take the shade of a good tree any day.  

#83- The Smell of Freshly Cut Grass

Today is the start of May 2-4 here in the land above the 49th parallel and that means one thing: the start of summer.

This is the weekend when patios fill up, cottages open up and fireworks light up and for many this marks the beginning of a few months of glorious sun, or, if you live way up there, a few months of bad skiing season.

But for me there is something else that appears around this time that puts my head in a summer place and that's the smell of freshly cut grass.

When I walk down the street and get a blast of that newly chopped green in my nostrils I can't help but think of days spent playing soccer, swimming in pools or just reading a book on a lawn chair as dusk sets in.

For me the smell of freshly cut grass marks a beginning. It is like nature's version of a ribbon cutting for a new building. It is a rebirth of sorts where the old is taken out and the new brought in. It means the grass is growing and the winter has been left far behind.

Last summer I had my fair share of days where all I did was cut grass, but that smell still makes me think of care-free times and has me looking forward to more in the near future.

So I am grateful for the smell of freshly cut grass. I am grateful for the thoughts of good times it can provoke. I am grateful that the sound of a lawn mower can be the starting gun for summer, but hopeful that we won't race through it, but enjoy whatever comes and all the fun times, sunny days and summer nights that follow.

#58- The Longest Day of the Year

I know this is the first day of summer, but to be honest it has felt like summer for at least a couple weeks if not a month, especially when I'm down in the sand traps burning up for my job at a golf course. It's like a beach without the water.

But what is special about today, what is so unique and amazing is that today is the longest day of the year. 

Yes, this is the day when the sun stays up and parties the hardest, allowing us to bask in its rays, its warmth, its beauty and its life for more time than any other day of the year.

Today is the day I can sit outside on my porch and sip on a nice cold drink without having to fold up and go inside early. Today is the day when I can use one of my corny, but reliable jokes; oh man, this is going to be one long day!

So I am grateful for the longest day of the year. I am grateful for the sun shining, the warm weather and being able to enjoy these wonders of nature long into the night, or rather day. And I am grateful that in six or seven months when I'm surrounded my snow and heading home at 4:30 in the dark, that I can remember this day and make a little sun shine out with the warm memories.

#56- Sunrises

I've seen many a sunrise in my life, even a couple from a plane window, but two moments come to mind when I think about the sun coming up in the morning.

Kenya is a country full of stunning natural beauty, but one of the best sights on my trip to Kenya was the sun rising over the community of Salabwek on our last day there. A couple of us had gone out early to get one last look at the school site that had been our workplace for two weeks and the sun was ready to greet us. The sun made everything the most awesome shade of reddish-orange I've ever seen and gave me a sense of hope and happiness for the trip, the project and the great times I had had.

It's nearly three years later, and again, the sunrise has given me a little glimmer of hope. As I have said, I am currently working the over night shift at work, which can get tiring and more than a little discouraging. The first night I was working, I was taking out the garbage (maybe I should start taking the garbage out more) and the sun was beginning to rise. It gave me a little hope. I had survived my first night, and I had been rewarded with an amazing view.

So I am grateful for the sunrise. I am grateful for this phenomenon that gives such beauty to the world and such hope to me. I am grateful that such a sight happens to signal of a new beginning to every day. My dad has a saying I've always remembered; No matter what happens, in the morning the sun will rise and God will still love you.   

#29- Rainy Days

Today was the perfect day for writing the last essay of the school year. That's because today was a rainy day.

All weekend the sun was shining, the air was warm and spring taunted me through the window of my room where I sat trying to write two essays. Finally, today the sky opened up and the rain came down which helped to keep my eyes focused on my computer and not constantly drifting towards the sunlight pouring through my blinds, inducing day dreams every time.

Yes, rainy days are kind of gloomy, but I say all the better for settling down in a nice, comfortable sweater and a pair of sweat pants with tea or coffee or hot chocolate and pounding out a 2,000 word paper.

Rainy days help me to focus on tasks at hand and if I have no work to do, they are great for bonding with friends or siblings over a board game or cards.

Another important part of rainy days is the actual rain itself, but that's such a big topic I think it deserves its own post later on.

So I am grateful for rainy days and the focus it gives me. I am grateful for the cozy atmosphere it creates in my room or the library or wherever I am doing work. And I am grateful that it gives the sun the day off so that when I come back after finishing my work I can enjoy nice spring days to the fullest. 

#18- Glass Warming

The first few days of spring have been a little chilly in Ottawa. That is to say they have been below freezing most of the time.

The upside to that it has been sunny most of the time too and that means I have managed to stay nice and warm thanks to trusty, glass windows.

When the sun goes through the glass and into my house, or my school or where ever I am, it becomes the nice warming rays of late spring and not the cold, teasing sunshine of mid winter. 

So I can sit in a bus shelter behind the glass and feel the sun on my face while still breathing in some fresh air and pretend I am sitting on a dock somewhere.

I can also find that little patch of sun coming in through my window and onto my bed, curl up like a cat and read a good book. 

So I am grateful for the way glass warms up the rays of the sun. I am grateful for the nice hint of warmth it allows me to enjoy as I wait for the bus or read the paper in the atrium between classes. And I am grateful that the glass in this city is trying to let spring in, even if the weather isn't quite ready to do the same.  

#9- My Inaffective Blinds

Today, like almost every bright day, the sun woke me up.

The sun acts as my natural alarm clock a lot because of my poor blinds that protect me quite well from prying eyes, but totally fail at keeping sunlight out of my room.

Now at first I hated that my blinds were so porous and would ruin my Saturday morning sleep-ins. But over time I realized that every day the sun got me up, I felt happier to be awake. It was sort of like the sun was saying, "Hey Marc, look how nice it is today! Get your lazy self up and come enjoy my warmth and my light."

The sun was knocking on my door for me to be happy and productive and my shoddy blinds let the sun in. 

And who doesn't like a sunny day? Everything just seems more crisp and alive. How could I not be happy about that.

So I am grateful for my blinds, because they don't do the job they are supposed to do, but they do a job that is needed: waking me up to the world happy and raring to go.