“If I made a movie I’d want it to be in Michigan featuring…”

This week, I am grateful for the sun. It seems as though we had a gray dome just resting over top of the state of Michigan, or at least the southwest corner of Michigan for what felt like most of 2023 so far to be honest. But this week, at least in my region, we finally had some clearing, and it’s underrated how powerful it can be to just get out of work and see that the sun is there. I take backroads home from work, so I can drive down past one of our state parks in this area that sits along the shoreline and, you know, today was one of those days where there’s that low winter sun, it’s there. You know it. It’s not so bright that you can’t really look at it, but it just peers through the trees and the woods and hits you just right. It’s this amazing tone that’s struck. If I had an eye for it, it’s how I’d want to set a scene in a movie. I’ve always kinda imagined if I made a movie, I’d want it to be in Michigan featuring the sort of things that Michiganders see that don’t often get replicated on film, like these sunny early February winter afternoons, snow on the ground, it’s cold outside. Your car is covered in salt and the remnants of whatever last snow-slash-mud mixture you’ve got cooking there. Actually, when you’re cozy in your car, I love that ambiance, so much so that after work this week on Tuesday, I think, I drove straight to the lakeshore, and I took a nap in my car as I pulled up to the shore of Lake Michigan, and stuck around for the sunset, and there’s sometimes where you just want to get home after work period even if you’re getting home to do nothing. That’s actually me on most days, but every now and again I get this feeling like “Yeah, I’m gonna get home late, but at least this is worthwhile, right? You know, may as well make something of my day.” So yeah, I’m really grateful for the sun. I think I heard that we’re now done with sunsets before 6 pm and that makes me happy too. So I’ll take it.