There’s something magical about rogue winds.

Unlike any other type of air movement, midday summer rogue winds have the ability to make you appreciate a moment, a single moment before your world is picked up, disturbed, and rearranged.

As I floated in my pool this afternoon I realized that I could still feel the remnants of stress that this last year has brought on. While my conscious mind has seemingly moved on, my body still remembers the tension, my joints still hold desperately on to the rigidity of carefully planned schedules.

So I stretched out in the water and let my body float around the circular pool. The sun tickled any skin not covered by water, a nearby cicada called its delight in the heat, and the trickle of pool water made me feel like I was in some far away tropical resort.

I forgot about the pool filter that needs cleaning. I forgot about the nearby vegetable garden that needs weeding. I forgot about the overflowing to-do list in my home office. I forgot about the house improvements that I wanted to do this summer. I forgot about checking social media posts. And for the first time in months, I forgot about trying to force myself onto some mysterious professional path that I kept telling myself will make all of my stress worth it someday. I just floated.

Then, much like the chaos of this past year, a rogue wind blasted through my trees and tore off several leaves and branches. It leapt over the water, bounced on the awning and over the roof. I watched it twist across the road in a flurry of dust and leaves, and then it carried on down the hill towards the river.

Then it was gone and my momentary peace was pulled away with it.

But instead of holding onto the shock it brought, instead of yearning for the peaceful moment that had been disturbed, I simply kicked up my feet and put my head back in the water. The sun warmed my skin and the cicada kicked up his melody once again. And I…I kept floating.