It took me a while to figure out what I was going to write about for the fourth themed 52 Blogs topic, but I got there in the end.

I grew up in England where, most days, the sky looked like this:

cloudy-sky.jpg

Now I live in Australia where, most days, the sky looks like this:

blue-sky.jpg

It might be different if you’ve grown up to this, but there’s something glorious and life-affirming about waking up to clear blue skies. I’m not much of a sun-seeker myself, but I’d still rather have blue skies and sunshine than the alternative. A grey sky is shroud-like and oppressive; you can shrug it off for a day or two but after that it can legitimately start bringing your day down. A blue sky, conversely, reminds you that your day has endless possibilities, makes everything look twenty times better, and lets the sunlight through.

I’ve gotten so accustomed to blue skies now that a small part of me enjoys the change when we have a thick, grey covering of cloud, or even rain. However, I also notice the shift more profoundly now: the slight dampening of spirit that comes with more than a few days of cloud or the extra spring in my step when all is clear.

And, since it’s always good to end on a musical note: