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An Enormous Woman

Cliff and I were en route to Bald Head Island off the coast of North Carolina.

The day was gorgeous. September in all her brilliance.

Puffy, proud clouds painted the sky in front of us.

enormous woman, clouds, cloudy sky, nature, midlife

“As a girl, I found shapes in the clouds,” I said. “They’d pop right out at me. I  can’t do that anymore. I’ve lost the knack.”

I studied the sky in front of us.

No luck.

A few hours later, we sat on the dock overlooking the harbor.

“Look!” Cliff called out, pointing skyward.

What?”

“An enormous woman!”

Stretching across the harbor, like the figurehead on a ship, was, indeed, a giant woman, with flowing hair and a billowing gown.

“Her face is starting to drift apart,” Cliff said.

But it didn’t matter.

I still got to see that lady in her cloud shape splendor.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that older couples often help each other in an easygoing and patient way.

I’m starting to feel that new sort of camaraderie.

I spent the weekend looking for shapes in the clouds.

My skills did come back, somewhat.

I spotted a duck, a whale, and the state of Texas.

But my favorite shape,

My favorite shape of all,

Was the cloud lady over the harbor.

Read more from Barbara Younger on her blog, Friend for the Ride

Barbara Younger

Barbara Younger's blog, A Friend for the Ride: Encouraging Words for the Menopause Roller Coaster, takes an upbeat look at menopause and midlife. She welcomes guest posts! Shoot her an email at the address on her "About the Blog and Me" page. The author of over twenty books for adults and children, Barbara holds an a MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Barbara lives in a 180-year-old house in the small town of Hillsborough, North Carolina with her husband Cliff and collections of everything from dolls to Golden Books to butter boxes. She's the mother of two grown daughters and grandmother to one adorable baby boy.

Barbara Younger

Barbara Younger's blog, A Friend for the Ride: Encouraging Words for the Menopause Roller Coaster, takes an upbeat look at menopause and midlife. She welcomes guest posts! Shoot her an email at the address on her "About the Blog and Me" page. The author of over twenty books for adults and children, Barbara holds an a MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Barbara lives in a 180-year-old house in the small town of Hillsborough, North Carolina with her husband Cliff and collections of everything from dolls to Golden Books to butter boxes. She's the mother of two grown daughters and grandmother to one adorable baby boy.

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Lisha Fink

Thursday 21st of November 2013

The thought of sitting on a dock looking at clouds sounds sublime to me. What a great story.

Barbara Younger

Thursday 21st of November 2013

Thanks so much. It was a lovely afternoon.

Barbara Younger

Thursday 14th of November 2013

Thanks, Anne. Your kind thoughts send my spirits soaring cloudward (I'm not sure "cloudward" is really a word!)

Anne Parris

Thursday 14th of November 2013

This was beautiful, Barbara--a poem.

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