It's not every day that I notice the sky. But when I drive an aging woman around town the condition of the heavens inevitably comes up.

"The sky is clear today. That's nice." She remarks.

Sometimes, later on the same day the horizon has morphed completely.

"Pretty cloudy. Looks like it'll rain."

Within the confined of one shift last week the sky went from robin's egg blue to overcast with a chance of sprinkles, and finished with a sunset to rival a baby's blanket.

What startled me was that the transformation was not partial. It was complete. From east to west. When had the cumulus sidled in? When had they shimmied out? It was like a scene change in a play, with no black garbed stage crew in sight.

Changes in life happen without my attention. A friendship that had been strained for years has softened. I sent a Christmas card. She sought me out for conversation in a crowd where she easily could have avoided me. We laughed.

A woman who confided that her marriage had flatlined last year has been happier of late. She mentions her husband with lightness rather than criticism. While I know that Christmas pictures are cherry picked theirs seemed especially tender. Some smiles cannot be faked even in a photo shoot.

If we get time alone over smoothies I will ask how the wind is blowing.