Moments

It’s a beautiful day in my corner of the world. The sun is shining. It’s hot but not humid, like it has been. The bugs aren’t too bad. And the river beckons.

I’ve spent the last few hours, paddling my kayak up and down the river near my home. The water is calm. A light breeze blows up every now and then, rippling the surface and cooling the back of my neck. The dragonflies flit around me, touching down on the surface, then back up into the air. Small fish scurry by. Weeds sway in the current.

I pass other kayakers and people sitting on docks, fathers fishing with their sons and paddle boarders having big conversations, and I smile and wave hello, and they do the same. And I sit back and think about how incredibly lucky I am.

At the same time that I am drifting along, trailing my fingers through the water, people are stuck in stifling cities, hoping to catch a breath of air.

While I close my eyes and relish the feel of the sun on my shoulders, people are working, crying, fighting, worrying, praying, and dying. And here I am, paddling down the river beside one who loves me.

Sometimes in life, moments of bliss can seem few and far between. Sometimes we can fail to recognize them, even as they are happening. This is one of those moments. Oh, how thankful I am.