Serendipity

 

 It already feels like forever since I sent SENTENCED TO DEATH off.  In the meantime, my copies of MAKING IT WRITE arrived.  It is always exciting seeing the actual copies of the book.  It only took a few days of not working on anything to make me anxious to get back to my computer. 

But the nice part of not being under the gun to finish something means I could take a serendipity day yesterday and not feel like I should be doing something else.

It's gotten hot-- not the extreme heat some places are having, but hot enough that an afternoon at a playground even with shade isn't that appealing.  So when we wanted to take Jakey somewhere, we opted for a playground in Malibu.  The ride there is amazing as the road skirts along the mountains and then a vista of the ocean opens up.  The temperature was probably 20 degrees cooler.

The playground had pretend fire trucks, a police car and a lifeguard station that have places to climb and walk on swaying bridge.  And for the comfort of adult escorts, there are rocking chairs and a very nice bench.  We got there around 6:00 in the evening and a cloud bank had just come onshore.  The playground was empty except for one little boy and his father.  Jakey made friends and they were off to play, which sometimes was just running around everything.

The playground is surrounded by trees and the leaves were just fluttering a little with the breeze.  Beyond I had the view of a mountain with a house near the top.  It was very quiet and  kind of a perfect moment.  It was nice to just be.  Some more kids and parents came, but it was never really noisy.  They left and it was just down to Jakey and his new friend.  The sky was completely covered by the cloud bank and the sun lowering in the sky was off camera.  The air had a little chill, but felt nice.  It was 8:00 and still it was light, though it was beginning to dim.  Lights came on in a building on the other side of the trees.  The house on the hill was suddenly illuminated by outdoor lights and I began to wonder who lived there.  Was it just the prestige of having a house with a view in Malibu or did they look out and thank your lucky stars for having a view like that.

Everything was blending together when we finally went to the car.  Jakey was flushed from having a good time and I had a nice feeling of well being.

The ride home was dark and mysterious.  The sky was still holding a little light and was at translucent blue above the silhouette of the mountains.

I thought about parties we used to to at a house near where we were.  They were grand parties with a tented tennis court and celebrity guests.  I enjoyed them then, but now watching it get dark at the playground is more than enough for me.