Swimming Amongst The Stars

I've recently begun to discover all the ways I've changed as I've grown older, and one of the most recent additions to a long line of eccentricities is bathing in the dark. This is a feat I never would have dreamed of attempting as a child because my fear of things that go bump in the night and the fact that my house is haunted, but now it is something that I wouldn't dream of giving up... not for the world.

It started with baths by candlelight, but then one night even my one candle seemed annoying bright. I started to climb out of the tub in search of something small like a tea-light, but decided on a whim just to blow the damn thing out. It was making my tiny upstairs bathroom overwhelming hot anyway because this was May in Texas, so the temperature was already in the nineties and not expected to fall anytime for the next twelve months.

So anyway, I blew the candle out, and, I'll admit, I was immediately tempted to get up and turn on the light instead of brave the dark waters. Then the moon caught my eye out my perfectly placed bathroom window, and it was love at first site. I laid back, relaxed, and let myself stare out the window until my eyes adjusted to the darkness and the night began to breathe.

Ever since I haven't been able to take a bath with the light on. What fun is that when I could be counting falling stars or making pointless wishes while I bathe? It is simply amazing, and I wish each and everyone of you could experience it, if only once.

Anyway, last night my smallest black cat, David, decided to jump in the window and watch the stars with me as I bathed, and the moment left me wishing upon every star that I saw that I could magically wake up this morning with the ability to paint. There was just something about my cat in the widow, with the curtains making a diamond around him, and the stars shinning through the night that made all the shades and black and grey seem more full of life than all the colors of the world. It was wonderful, and I feel blessed to have experienced it.