Sunset walk

I was upstairs, changing my top because I had gotten the sleeve wet while loading the dishwasher after dinner, when I looked out the bedroom window and saw someone on a bike.

And in that moment, I had a surprising case of FOMO. Sure it was after 7, but it was still light out, and fairly warm. Plus the idea of an after-work walk isn’t that odd, and I could use the fresh air, so why was he out there and I inside?

Sure, my attire — the in-between clothing I lounge around the house in before eventually putting on pajamas — wasn’t suited for being outside, but it was nothing throwing pair of sweats and a hoodie on top wouldn’t cure.

They roll up the streets early here.

The cyclist had already gone home, and even the late-in-the-day version of the people-and-dogs promenade that circles our neighborhood daily was in for the night.

Across the street, I heard a woman leave the house with the dog, one of the regulars. I would have been OK if she brought the dog over for a pet, but she seemed very focused, like being out so late was some kind of aberration that must be rectified as soon as possible.

So it was just me and my thoughts, but it was far from silent, not with cars and the train in the distance at the bottom of the hill.

And the birds. Do they wait until everyone else has retired for the day to come out, or are they always this chatty and I just don’t notice with all the other sights and sounds vying for my attention?

For no particular reason — I had listened to the album earlier, but that was in the morning — the chorus to “Background Music” popped into my head.

Well, not exactly the chorus. I haven’t listened to the album nearly enough to have it anywhere near memorized, so it was more the rhythm, with the internal version of the “something, something, something” when you know the music but not the lyrics.

“We got time but we’re only human

We call it forever but we know that there’s an end to it

You and I can dance our way through it

And I’ll love you ’til all that we are is background music.”

Three laps around the neighborhood shouldn’t take that long, but I wasn’t in any hurry.

Just after sunrise, the pinks and blues are behind the house across the street. By sunset, they move behind the houses on my side of the street, and the hill dropping off makes them look like they’re even more in the distance.

Coming around the back side of the loop, I took my time, looking over the trees and power lines to admire the colors. The crescent of the moon was just starting to show itself overhead.

The day gone, my brain unclenched, it was … refreshing.

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