When You Can’t See The Sunrise, Clouds Take Center Stage

If you write you’ve heard, “Write what you know.” I know the sun is a healer. When it rises, I feel anointed and when it sets I’m blessed again. Every single morning, I sit on the west end of our loveseat like a lazy cat. Our condo faces north which freaked me out at first. I thought I’d shrivel up. I imagined no morning sun, no garden and dark rooms. Nevertheless, when we moved in at the peak of winter I instinctively settled into the spot where you could see a sliver of the sun in the morning, and in the spring the sun returned in full. What a relief.

Fall arrived last week, and now I’m forced to lean toward the sun like a hungry plant. I have to bend 45 degrees to the left and stretch my neck for a glimpse of sunrise from our balcony. Mostly, I see the halo and a pink horizon. Even though I know the answer, I’m really sad the sun is leaving. Soon I’ll have to stand up and lean over the balcony railing to see the sunrise, instead of rocking in my chair with the sun in clear view like I do in the summer.

We have windows that fill entire walls floor-to-ceiling and side-to -side. You can see three mountains and clouds for miles. Every now and then a cloud drapes the windows. It’s spooky and thrilling. The view is akin to a white out in a snow storm. These are the times that you realize twenty floors is high up and clouds are great for drama.

Today, I noticed a collection of clouds like a school of silver fish drifting toward the sun. Could they be my proxies? Can I rely on them, just for a moment, to lend me their shine? I look at the school of white wisps in the sky and remember that clouds are powerful too, not like the sun, but still a source of awe and inspiration. On the 20th floor we have a front row seat to the daily cloud show. I pay attention when a storm is coming because the clouds are so dramatic. I love it when a thick grey blanket lays across the sky.

The sun moves east to west every day, but clouds travel in every direction in different shapes and sizes. Since I’m going to be spending more time with clouds at sunrise throughout the winter, I’ll be grateful for the show.