Today, in the pool, as usual, I was looking up at the sky while I was doing the backstroke, and while I was relaxing floating on my back after the whole experience was over.  I saw so many shapes that were recognizable.  I saw a Moxie (my dog), a bunny, and a thing that slightly resembled a Razorback (the mascot of our favorite team).

The funny thing about cloud formations, though, is that they disappear very quickly.  You look one second, and you see your dog’s profile.  The next second, that image is gone and you see something else, or something entirely abstract.  It’s kind of like other things in life – relationships if they are not nurtured, your kids growing up, something you say that doesn’t quite come out the way you planned, or old friendships.

The lesson in all of this is to nurture those relationships, make them keep the same general shape you have grown accustomed to and love.  Allowing them to falter because you have not paid enough attention or paid the wrong kind of attention is always a bad thing.  Watch those kids grow up.  They will only be 5 one time.  They won’t regress to another stage in life, and you’ll look at little girls and boys and wonder what happened to your own someday.  Watch your words carefully.  Once spoken and heard, they cannot be undone no matter how hard you try.  Someone might forget the pain of them over time, but they will always remember how they felt when you said the wrong thing.  Finally, keep those old friendships alive, if you want to keep those old friends close.  When you come back together later in life, it’s just not the same unless you try.

Cloud formations, like people, change a bit.  Clouds just change more quickly and without as much effort, as people.