A peculiar feeling came over me as I lay in bed this morning.
I wake easily, and I'm usually awake fairly early. This morning was no exception. I awoke somewhere around 4:30 or so, but being a weekend I didn't have to get up. I tried a few various changes in the way I was laying to see if I could get back to sleep. None worked. As I lay there, my mind started waking up. Thoughts started speeding up, and I started thinking about all kinds of things. It was obvious I was not going to get back to sleep, so I pulled out my ear plugs and put them on the night stand. I hate ear plugs, but wear them out of necessity. I can go to sleep at night at the drop of a hat, but when I've been asleep for more than two hours I can wake at the slightest sound. Wearing earplugs will keep me from waking up when my wife comes to bed, and also help if she gets into a particularly noisy bout of snoring.
Anyway, back to what I was talking about.
When I took my earplugs out, I was immediately in a different place. Instead of the usual muted hissing from my tinnitus, I was hearing a quiet Sunday morning in a sleeping house, only this time I could hear the rain on the roof, and the water cascading down the downspout. I sleep wearing nothing, and I enjoy it. Probably because I was already naked, the thought of going outside in the rain with no clothes on crossed my mind. That's all it took. The more I thought about it the more I started thinking how fun it would be to go outside bare and enjoy the rain. It was still dark, there was almost zero chance of anyone else catching me. Besides, there was already a towel hanging outside near the hot tub. Why not?
Suddenly motivated, I slid out of bed and put my robe on. On the way through the house I turned the heat on, pushed the button on the already-loaded coffee pot, and went to the back door. I put flip-flops on and stepped through the sliding glass door, closing it slowly. I stood there under the eaves for a moment, enjoying the sound of raindrops falling around me. It actually wasn't very cold at all. I suddenly realized I had bypassed the bathroom in my hurry to experience this private moment. Goaded into action by the need to pee, I took my robe off and carefully laid it over the firewood rack against the wall, and stepped out onto the deck and into the natural shower, enjoying the naturist feeling that was enveloping me.
The rain sounded harder than it felt, but it felt wonderful as it pelted my bare skin and started cascading down my body. I leaned my head back, letting it kiss my face. Cursing my glasses, I removed them so I would leave no place untouched by the rain. I reached up and wiped the rain all over my face, smearing the cool water and refreshing me. I put my glasses back on and stepped to the edge of the deck. Then I remembered the motion light on the garage. Damn that light! I have been surprised by that garish light before and was glad I remembered it before it came on this time. I knew a certain range I could venture fairly safely before triggering it, but I still played it safe and moved slowly. I was in no hurry anyway. Just off the deck I stopped. Again I leaned my head back and enjoyed the rain plastering my face as I wiped my body all over like I was soaping up in nature's shower. I stepped back up onto the deck and enjoyed the rain for a few minutes more. I looked over at the sliding door, and there was the cat, watching me, wondering what one of her humans was doing out there in the rain with no covering. About that time I started to chill and went for the hot tub towel.
I went in to a nice, warm house and the coffee was almost ready to pour. It was a most excellent beginning to my day.
Okay, I didn't really dance in the rain... Physically anyway. In my mind, however, I was doing cartwheels.
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