One of the great things about living in the Valley of the Sun and the way they do things around here in most of the established subdivisions is the fact that you can, if you wanted to and if you’re housing situation is such, you can spend you’re whole life outside without clothes on. Of course, if you live, say, in a one story house and have one or more neighbors with two-story houses that’s not really possible, but that’s not us. With six and eight foot high cement walls separating us from our neighbors, no two-story houses around us, and no kids, there’s really no reason why, when it’s nice outside like it was last night not to enjoy your nitecap au natural.

What a lovely night last night was. A thin cloud cover turning the half-moon into a shimmering silver, a soft breeze from the East (very unusual this time of year) stirring the wind chimes ever so slightly, and the soft fragrance of fruit trees budding in the night air made the patio so enjoyable that one could have slept outside if they wanted to.

I’ll admit it – I enjoy having my nitecaps and enjoying the night air (and, in a month or so, a late-night swim) without clothes on. It’s the ultimate feeling of freedom and independence – it’s just you inside the concrete walls, but what a beautiful backyard within those walls we have cultivated. Palm trees, swimming pool, landscaping, patio – it’s almost like living a dream. I haven’t taken a swim in a bathing suit since we moved here and don’t plan to. And I don’t take one second of it for granted. I’m talking health, having a job, owning a home I could never, ever have imagined owning, breathing in deep the fresh night air, nursing a Johnny Walker Red (one ice cube) as the palm trees and wind chimes stir. If there’s such a thing as pure contentment, I came close to feeling that.

It won’t last forever, though, which is why I just try to enjoy it as much as I can. Times, health, and circumstances will change, but I’ll (at least hopefully) always have the memories.