Sunny and warm

The day started sunny, warm, and muggy.  The predicted high was about 10 degrees above average for this day.  I was braced for a much hotter than normal day.  Then, also as predicted, clouds began to assemble.  They turned from white to gray.  The temperature dropped; the wind picked up.  Rain followed.  The reprieve of the rain was very welcome.

We live pretty predictable lives.  The book Passages by Gail Sheehy outlines the stages of predictable life as one moves from one decade to another.  As it turns out, life is a lot like the weather: it has seasons and average temperatures.  The book tells about the characteristics each decade holds in Bell Curve fashion.  It's an enlightening read and is not laden with psychological jargon and statistics.

So, when the changes come, as they inevitably will, in our lives, they also come at predictable periods.  The famous 7-year itch and mid-life crisis are two of these periods.  The 30s represent the most ambitious periods of life for both sexes.  The book has many examples.

The book is, of course, reporting on generalities, and life happens rather unpredictably on occasion. These unpredictabilities are of two varieties: pleasant ones and disastrous ones.  I have experienced some of these as well.  Two represent these polar extremes.  Death of a child is the most intense negative experience, forcing one onto a dark, dark path for a period of time.  Finding true joy is the opposite experience, allowing one to enter a period of daily sunshine.

I know I have lived out the a lot of the characteristic routines of Passages.  But the reprieve from the predictable by the possibility of bright daily sunshine is so very welcome.