Just Watch The Sky

Catching a Moment: Just Watch The Sky

Valentines day was almost over and we still weren’t on the road, we began to wonder if we would even get to go at all.
My friend Rachel and I were supposed to leave for New Smyrna, Florida the day before. Around 3:00am on the 15th we got the call; it was time to take our first road trip to Florida from Kitchener/Waterloo. We grabbed our suitcases and took them to the truck. Finally, the two-week trip was beginning.
We drove and drove, stopping at fast food restaurants but never stopping to sleep. The climate and surroundings gradually changed before our eyes, from Ontario to Pennsylvania, to Virginia and Georgia the weather continued to get more beautiful. Our track pants and coats had been thrown aside in favor of shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops.
By the time we got to Florida we were all tired as hell from the 27-hour drive. We tracked down the hotel we were staying at and finally went to check in. It was about 4am.
“Your reservation is for 9am tomorrow morning, we can’t check you in until then.” Said the lady at the front desk. After the drive with no real sleep involved we were all just craving a shower and a nap.
Rachel and I plopped down on the wicker and cushioned couches in the dim lobby. The lobby’s color scheme was mainly green and yellow with a few royal blue accent walls.
Rachel and I decided it made no sense to be inside a lobby being negative, so we walked out the front doors.
The sky was lightening behind the hotel so we walked around the side and towards the bright sky and beach. When we got to the sand we threw off our flip-flops to feel the cool smoothness on our feet. The sky was changing from shades of pink to salmon and the reflection on the water was bright. The sunrise welcomed us to New Smyrna in a way that could never have been duplicated by something artificial.
The sun got higher in the sky, the pink changed to purple, and then to blue. The clouds came out and morning runners and dog walkers passed by as New Smyrna woke up.
For a few brief minutes the sunrise was the only thing relevant. A lot of New Smyrna was still asleep but the ocean and sky continued to put on a new daily show for whoever wanted to see. This gorgeous sunrise showed me that we should all try to take in the natural charm of all life has to offer, the things that don’t involve a transaction or trade. All it takes is the willingness to let the stresses of life fall by the wayside in order to just watch the sky.