Ubiquitous

I’ve had this word in my head for days.

I have no clue when or how it popped into my subconscious – but it obviously felt too crowded in there and made space in the forefront of my brain.

I didn’t know there was any room left, what with all my other tenants: Tangents, imaginary problems, over thought real issues, and daydreams.

But, there it is.

Ubiquitous.

Moved in and unpacking its belongings – wondering if there’s enough space in the dumpster to dispose of the boxes and newspapers it had its fragile things wrapped in.  (Probably then it felt a little guilty for considering just tossing its packing debris and not recycling.)

The wind in the desert has been ubiquitous of late.

It’s an icy wind that slaps you in the face, waters your eyes and has you hugging yourself tightly.  (I like the hug part.  I haven’t had a hug from another human being in a very long time.)

Every time I walk outside my office – I think of that fable about the wind and the sun.  Which one could get the man to remove the jacket.  The wind boasted it could – and tried first – of course, the man only drew his coat tighter – the sun shone and the man, too warm, removed his jacket.

Every time!

Then I go off on a tangent in my head about the metaphor and think of similar ones .  By the time I’m back in my chair I’m focused on being kind – knowing people respond to kind.  (Or maybe it would be easier to just turn the central heat up?)

The thing about this wind: the first time I came to this area to visit my parents, I encountered it and I remember thinking, there’s no way I could EVER live in this area.

I knew the wind would drive me bonkers.

You just get relief from temperatures in the 120’s – then you can’t enjoy being outside because the wind is ready to bite at you and push your patio furniture into the pool.  (I don’t have a pool but I’ve seen it happen first hand and thought I’d throw that in there … much like the wind does.)

Anyway, I was NEVER going to move here … Yet here I am.

The other thing is – I might be the only one that remembers that the wind happens every single year,  because the complaints about the wind are ubiquitous too.

“It’s windy outside!”

“It’s cold out there!”

“That wind has been blowing for three days straight!”

“Wish that wind would lay down!”

“It would be nice if it weren’t so windy!”

This is from people who have been in the area long enough to know that this happens every fucking year.

(I needed to say that.  Sometimes I crave the feeling of a shocking word leaving my mouth.)

Anyway, Stop it.

We know.

It’s windy.  It was windy last year, and the year before that.

I’m taking an educated guess that next year, ‘round this time … it’s going to be windy.

Hopefully Ubiquitous will have disposed of its packing material responsibly, or there will be packing peanuts in my imaginary pool and tumbleweed boxes smacking up against my tangents.