Late Afternoon Shadows

Redondo Pier ... late afternoon
Originally uploaded by tejana.

When I was a child, I would often wander into our living room during the late afternoon and see sunlight streaming through the open front door, throwing a distorted block of warm, glowing light onto the carpet of the entry way. One of my favorite things to do on a Late Summer afternoon was to flop down on the carpet, right where that sunbeam fell and bask to my little heart's content. Time meant nothing. I remember exactly the feel of that golden light as it hit my skin.
Long afternoon shadows. The way the sun slants just so and splashes itself across the ground, stretching and magnifying in shadow any item to fall in its path. It brings back so many memories.
Memories of times less hectic, slower, peaceful. There is nothing like the feeling of long afternoon shadows. No way to put words to the sensation.
After a happy, busy, play-filled day, that soft, calm pause where quiet resides and the world can go on spinning without you for a while.
Now I often find myself stopping for a moment to look at the slanting afternoon sunlight falling through my back door as I work in the kitchen to make dinner for my family. How I would love to toss everything aside and go celebrate that warming light for just a little while. I cannot, however. I am too busy. Life has taken over and now I run as its whips lick at my heels.
But as I look at that light spilling onto my floor, my memories fly back in time and once again I feel like a child lounging on my mother's floor.
My spirit grows quiet.
I am free.