Take a Moment

Rather than reflect on one of the unfortunately abundant apocalyptic current events, I’m going to describe a small, simple moment of peace.

My family was driving home from a rare dinner out. The workweek had been hectic. Whose workweek isn’t, right? We were stopped at a stop light, and I was spacing out, running through that mental list: Okay, I still have to back up my computer and install the updated operating system. Maybe I can set that up while the kids take a bath. Probably not…. I wonder what’s going on with the hurricane situation. Gotta check Weather Channel. I wonder if we’re supposed to get the residual rainfall from that mess. We haven’t cleaned the gutters since last year…

I was jolted to reality when my son called out from the backseat:

“Hey Mom! Look at the sky!”

I looked, expecting to see something like a plane or a bird. It just looked like early evening sky to me.

“What is it that I’m looking at, honey?” I asked, in that distracted parent half-present way.

“Mom, look! Look at those purple clouds and the way the sun is. It looks pretty cool. Can you take a picture?”

I looked again, and I saw: the sky foreboding darkness and the bright stubborn sunshine; nature vs. manmade beauty; striking complementary colors…

Everyone in the car agreed: the sky looked cool. “Sure, I’ll take a picture, hon. Thanks for pointing it out to us!” We were at a full stop, and Hubby was driving anyways, so I pulled out my camera and snapped this photo.

When we got home, Babyboy asked to see the photo. I pulled it up on my phone, and he examined it.

“It’s a very beautiful sky,” he remarked. “It’s a sort-of sunset. I like the car lights, and that you can see some of the city.”

Then he smiled, handed me the phone, said “Thanks!” and bounded away.

I wouldn’t have even noticed such a beautiful sky, if my child hadn’t pointed it out. I’m thankful, and will try to enjoy these small shared moments more often.