I keep feeling pulled to start blogging here. I decided to stop waiting until [fill in all the excuses here] and. just. start.
Since today happens to be the first of May, I am going to post something every day this month. Just to get the momentum going.
I have a bad headache and I have had several false starts trying to write something today. But I’m committed :)
On my mind right now?
Moments of light. Glimmers of goodness. Beauty and brightness. When my brother was serving a mission in Brazil, he used to send us “#MOTDs” as he called them — miracles of the day. I loved that idea, and so for a while there, I journaled these daily.
Fast forward a decade, and I am definitely out of the habit.
I want to give myself some credit here. I do recognize these moments every single day. Even when life is hard. I’m not sure if I arrived here on earth this way or if it came with time and practice, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve stopped to smell the roses, feel the breeze on my skin, or watch an insect crawl across a stick. And smile and offer a prayer of gratitude to God.
But I have not been intentional about documenting them. And I feel strongly to start doing so. Life is messy. And it is beautiful. And I am grateful for the gift of seeing it in full color.
I noticed on my camera roll that while the husband was going through a recent medical crisis, I had captured pictures of things that felt beautiful to me. These were some of my glimmers:
I sadly don’t know the artist, but this was in the stairwell of our cruise ship. I was making my way down twelve flights of stairs when I saw this. I cried thinking of the resilience and adaptability of those little mushrooms.
Sunset from our cabin. Complete with window streaks ha.
I ate every meal I could on the aft deck. The open, empty space helped calm my anxiety while husband was in the medical clinic. During breakfast one day, a humpback whale really showed off and breached repeatedly until it was out of sight. It was incredible.
This sunset felt like a warm hug from God during one of my hardest moments on board.
I walked to Walmart to get some dinner while husband was in the hospital. I didn’t notice the guava as I walked by but the smell was intoxicating and stopped me in my tracks. I backed up to smell them in all their splendor.
My first ever tacos in Mexico. Bucket list item checked off!
On a walk to the beach, I passed my favorite flowers! Always a joy when I see these since they don’t make it where I live.
I had never seen one of these trees before and I was trying to figure out what it was. A kind man showed me the almonds (!!).
The hospital was conveniently within walking distance of this beautiful spot along Playa Medano. It almost felt like a true vacation for a minute there ;)
After being discharged, we stayed in Cabo for a couple nights to make sure husband was ready to travel. It was a lovely little oasis. I had never seen these flowers before. They are crown-of-thorns. Poisonous and thorny, but very beautiful.
Our last night in Cabo, I bought a swimsuit from Costco (we had to leave our luggage on the ship, it was flown home with family) and went swimming. Fully healed me. But anyway, our ship that we had been on the week prior had made it back down with the next load of passengers. It felt meta to see it before we headed home.
I have not yet been to the Grand Canyon, so seeing it from above was a treat.
What are some glimmers of goodness you’ve witnessed in your life today?