remember-a-day

A few weeks ago, we were driving home and the sky was painted teal, peach, and purple.  Everything in sight was alive with passion.  Days later we were smothered by a blanket of grey, the world felt hushed and slow. Every night, the world’s largest canvas is adorned with radiant hues, because God is an artist.

Sunrises and sunsets will happen without our acknowledgement and we don’t have to notice, but if you are searching for beauty in the world, twice a day, you know where to look.

I decided that I wanted to record the colors of the sunset every night. I’m not always in a prime photo location, but I stop what I am doing and look out the window.  I watch the first signs streak across the blue and notice how the colors dazzle until the light meets the horizon..  Then, I enter the date and colors into a note on my phone.

For a week now, I've been observing this practice. I suppose it is less about the recording of the colors and more about the noticing.  Too many stunners have passed without me stopping to say, hey as usual, great sunset tonight, God.   In reality, days will be missed, but no worries, another one is coming soon, another chance to marvel, to pause, to see, to be thankful, and to remember.

In the summer, I made an Index card calendar/journal.  At night I write down one thing that happened on that day. (Find in here).  Often, I write, spent the day at home with the kids, but  there was the time Hudson helped me unload the dishwasher {on Saturday} or when my baby girl ate an olive and loved it. It’s just life, normal and silly, but everyday life remembered is never ordinary.  I keep it near my bed and usually jot down one sentence before going to sleep or right away the next morning.  And ten years from now, I’ll remember where we spent Valentines day, because, do you ever remember that?

The thing is this, the act of remembering, it’s an opportunity for gratitude, to notice the blessings or challenges of this life.  It’s a brief pause to find perspective, to savor a moment, to collect joy.

I wonder, if you were to document one thing daily, what would it be? How would you do it?  A journal? an e-mail to yourself? a blog post? a photo?  If you are inspired to start collecting these tiny little pieces of wonder, I’d love to hear about it.

• January 26- soft blue, purple, purple grey, and pink
• January 27- blue-grey, pink, cream
• January 28- pink and grey

4. continued. not the adventure I expected.

Four years ago on August 28, 2006, I got an important text message from a boy, we’ll call him Matt.  I never expected to meet him, I planned on spending a year traveling the US, working with students, having adventures, and writing a book about it. You can read part one here.  I did not plan on getting important text messages from a boy, but I did and  I never wrote that book.
The message read, “Would you like to accompany me on a walk  tonight?”  I was very pleased to get that message.  I did want to take that walk.  This wasn’t the first walk that we ever took together, but I knew this one would be different.  I remember the other walk, very well.  One night, after driving back from L.A , I convinced Matt that we should go on a walk upon returning to the camp.   Let me point out, at first he thought I was crazy.  You see, we were doing our training in Angeles Crest Park, in the mountains, where wild animals lived and roamed free and ate people. A few girls had unhappily reported that they had seen a bear around the camp.    Whatever.  Technically, I extended the invitation to the other two people in our van, but I knew my friend Rachel would decline, arranging a good opportunity for the two of us to be alone.  This meant that the other guy would also decline because he had picked up hints of our growing interest in each other.  Matt thought I might be crazy enough to go out on my own, so he agreed to join me and act as my protector.  I never planning on going without him.   He still insists that he didn’t believe me until I showed up at the main lodge ready to go. 
In the beauty of the night on a glorious mountain, the sky sparkling with an impressive display of stars, we talked, we walked, we found a small dock by a tiny lake and were mesmerized by the glowing blanket of dark blue, speckled with brilliance.  There were moments were we said nothing and we were comfortable with the space and silence between us.  It was perfect.  I never thought about the bears, but I’m sure in the back of his mind, he was wondering how he’d fight off any beasts that would come across our path.  Lucky for him, no such beasts appeared.  We returned to camp, alive and with growing mutual interest.

…

Back to the the other walk.  THE walk.  I replied that I would like that, after doing what every girl does, showing my friend the text and then trying to hide our giddy faces from the rest of the people.  This time we were all at the company condo, back in the city, away from wild predators of the fur kind, at least.
Later that evening, I had just taken a short nap, training was exhausting.  I didn’t bring anything with me, except my phone and we left.  I was a little groggy and still rather tired, so he suggested coffee to ensure that I would stay awake.  Who am I to refuse coffee?  We walked to the Starbucks down the street and then I ordered, he said he didn’t want anything.  At that moment I “realized” that I didn’t have any money with me, so I told him.  He hesitated for just a second and informed me that I could pay him back later.    I was a little shocked at that statement, but sure I could pay him back later. (I still tease him about that).
In his defense:  He was nervous and didn’t want to seem too eager, but he assures me that he didn’t really want me to pay him back. 
Latte in hand and that silly moment behind us, we started walking to a park.  Our conversation was casual and slightly uneasy,  he was nervous, so nervous.  It was cute.  As we walked through the neighborhoods with tall fences around the perimeter of each home, he told me that they were probably collecting parts to build giant robots that were going to come to live and take over the world.

I didn’t care about robots.

I still don’t care about robots.

I think we talked about other things too, but I remember very little of that.  We finally arrived at the park and found a nice spot on a hill to sit.  He was gaining the courage.  I was getting impatient.  I asked him if there was something more that he wanted to talk about on this particular walk.  That was a his cue.

He took an obvious deep breathe.  I smiled, he was so nervous.

The details of the conversation are for us, it was the start of something that would change both of our lives, forever.  On the walk home, he was no longer nervous, but relieved and excited.  It would have been a long walk back if I would have said, no. 

Four years ago on August 28, 2006, I started dating that boy who asked me to take a walk with him, the one we call Matt…. the one I never planned on meeting.  When I left for California that year, I anticipated a great adventure, but I had no idea that it would last for the rest of my life and that I would share it with him.

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Just for the record:  I still haven’t paid him back for that coffee.

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Last year, we bought a cute little robot ornament for our Christmas tree.  We both said it was because H would like it, but truthfully, it reminds me of that walk.

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On Wednesday, we will celebrate our third wedding anniversary. 

In October, our little boy turns two. 

In January, we will meet our baby girl.

How’s that for an adventure?

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