Light as a Feather

It was a rainy day here in South Carolina. It actually is pretty much always raining. The rain was gentle. There was no wind. I was sitting on my balcony that overlooks the lake, sipping a cup of green tea. The lake has large homes with docks and boats. The trees are tall, leaves turning, and separate the houses from each other. The air was crisp, and it was just cool enough for me to only wear a thick sweater. I was contemplating my life choices. I recently quit my job and was trying to decide what to do next in life. Confused, I wondered about who I am and what my purpose is. Looking out at the lake, I saw an egret hunting. It stood as still as a rock, then struck its head into the water quickly and came up with a fish of some sort. After a tumultuous few months at my last job, it was nice to be able to sit and do nothing with nature surrounding me.

I began to reminisce about the places I liked living in best. Places that had the best shopping and additionally, amazing restaurants with great weather. “Where are the friendliest people? Los Angeles or Miami? Should I move back to one of those places?”, I thought to myself. “Now is the time to decide.”

All of a sudden, a black dot was becoming larger over the water. It was a drone. I was surprised because I didn’t know they could fly in the rain. Even more surprising, it was headed straight for me. When it got closer, I realized it was carrying clear bag. In the bag was a box that was wrapped in brown paper with red ribbon. The drone descended, set the box down, then disappeared into the rain. I took the package into the house, removed it from the bag, then set it on my coffee table which sat in front of the fireplace. I examined it and the only thing written on it was “light as a feather” in beautiful red calligraphy. The box was the size of a brick and was almost as heavy as one too. What does it mean? The contradiction made me chuckle. I opened the box. Inside was a large, beautiful smooth brick of Amber with a feather fossilized in it. I was so surprised! It was so spectacular, especially with the flames projecting and dancing around into it.

I began to ponder about which of my friends would have given me something. I have two best friends. Both are very good gift givers and are generous when doing so. Sylvia and Constance were my besties. I called Sylvia and asked her if she sent me the gift. She said she didn’t but when I told her he was just as intrigued as me. I called Constance next, and again, I was told no, she didn’t send it. At that point, I was completely consumed with trying to solve who sent me this mysterious gift. With my mind exhausted, I decided to jump on the treadmill and walk away some of the stress that this box had brought me. Working out had completely slipped my mind. While walking, I decided to only walk, and skip the day’s workout. I have consistently exercised ever since I lost 40 pounds last year. At that time, I had a personal trainer. Now, I do not have a trainer, but I try to keep my muscle toned. And a just like that it hit me!! I hurried and called my personal trainer Mitch. He answered. I asked, “Did you send me a gift? Oh! I’m sorry… how are you?”. “I am great!”, He responded, “And yes, I did send you something. Do you like it?”. I responded that I loved it. We caught up for a while but before the call ended, he wanted to know if it took me long to put it together. I explained that it had, and I decided to skip my workout but heard his voice in my head saying, “Muscle is heavier than fat”. It was the anniversary of my losing the weight!! The gift was heavy and strong like muscles, and I, was lighter like a feather. I thanked him and we hung up.

Such perfect timing. I got back on the treadmill and decided to do a full work out after all.