Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Watching It Slip Away

Yesterday, my family and I took a little day trip to Red Carpet Country. Drove a few hours simply to see what we could see. It is one of the many joys of living in Oklahoma; you can drive just a little ways and see completely different scenery.

It was an overcast day and the breeze was brisk, so we rolled the windows down to enjoy the fresh air. We turned off I-35 onto a smaller state highway. My daughter was busy pointing out all cows, trees and ponds. That quickly turned into the "Find The Color" game. She gives us a color and we have to look for it as we drive by.

Driving into the sunset is no fun for my husband, so we pulled onto the side of the road so we could turn around. It was time to go home anyway. Before we had a chance to head back, the sky became to fascinating to only see it in our rear mirror. We all got out of the car and sat on the hood of the car and watched the sky explode into all sorts of colors.

The wind was moving the clouds around and my daughter was awe-struck. We started pointing all to all the different shapes the clouds were making. This was a favorite game of mine as a child. Still is today.

I can sit for hours, watching the clouds. My imagination can come up with all sorts of different objects the clouds look like. My daughter, obviously related to me, began to do the same thing. She saw all sorts of things as the clouds swirled above us and the sun set in front of us.

"Momma, it looks like Ming-Ming," she giggled, pointing to a duck-shaped cloud. No matter where we go, The Wonder Pets from Nick Jr. are never too far away.

The colors in the sunset were amazing. Pinks, oranges, reds and blacks were mingled together. We leaned against the windshield of the car and watched the sun dipped below the horizon. The colors changed as the sun slipped away.

Cars passed by as we watched the sunset. I'm sure they wondered why this family was three was cuddled up on the hood of our car.

"Momma, I don't think they see what we see," my daughter said as one car went by. "If they could, they would have to stop. They are missing Jesus paint the sky."

Yes, they were missing that. They were also missing a great way to end a terrific "family day." I'm sure they had places to go and people to see; our lives are so busy now days. I hope they will be able to stop, like we did, and watch the sunset. I hope they are surrounded by people they love when they are able to stop. Those few moments we shared as the clouds swirled around us and the sun set are priceless to us.

Happy Oklahoma traveling.

Emma Riley Sutton