I touched the sky once…

I’d been trying to since I was three. Felt as though I almost did it the time I jumped from the top step and scraped my knees. It didn’t hurt…I almost touched the sky, after all.

The pine tree with its elbow in just the right place, offered a perch. As I grew older, I reached closer to the top. Ahhh, but the sky knew I was there and backed away a bit. Clever is the sky. It is not supposed to be touched and you must catch it off guard.

I used to practice my reach by walking ’round my house with a mirror turned up beneath my nose. Walking through the house with your “up” being your “down” can be a bit treacherous if you haven’t cleared the way but touching the sky is a worthy challenge. Training is a part of every hard earned skill.

Once I learned that jumping would be no part of it, my knees healed and my mind worked on a plan to trick the sky. She often comes close and tickles us on foggy mornings but she, the sky, is doing the touching.

It would be unsafe to stand up while riding in the back of a pick-up truck. The sky knows you are closer there but dances out of reach again to keep a child from trying.

One glorious day, I rode among the hay bales in the hay wagon. The sky was not aware that I sat in between the bales. I could tell because she was playing with the wind in the tree tops along the road. The fingers of the trees connected in an arbor above and were giggling unaware that I was watching. As I climbed the hay steps to the top, I entered a place I had searched for. The sun winked at me through the leaves as I lifted my head above the rails. Suddenly, the tree limbs erupted in applause and the sky hugged me. She knew I’d touch her one day! She tousled my hair in a “job well done” fashion and I raised my arms offering “high fives” to the elms and clouds.

That moment lives in my heart. Once you touch the sky, there is no limit to what a person can do. The sky is NOT the limit you know, it’s the beginning of living on top of your world.