Moments of Sunshine
"Mom I just want to feel the sunshine. I can't believe how much I have missed it." was not something I thought I would hear my five year old daughter say to me. After growing up in Africa and living in the warm sunny state of Texas, moments of sunshine were always taken for granted. They would come and go as my thoughts come and go and just like my thoughts they would always be there. However, after moving to Europe moments in the sunshine are special, cherished and many times missable. All it takes is one cloud to cover the sun and you might not see it again for weeks.
There are moments in our life that are like moments in the sunshine. They light up our life, make us feel warm and happy inside, they happen unexpectedly and it is a mystery when they will happen again.
Walking my daughter to school one day as she soared through the park like a pigeon who was on hyper drive; an older woman stopped me and asked me if I was her mother. Tricky question at a time like that, but still I claimed every ounce of that hyper, pigeon-acting, girl. After a brief conversation with this delightful stranger, she reached into a plastic bag and pulled out homemade baked pie, freshly picked mint leaves and handed them to me. She told me they were for my daughter who was so full of life and love. As I walked away smelling the freshly picked mint leaves in my hand and thinking about the sweet stranger I had met, that is is when I felt it; the sun was shining on me.
Each moment of sunshine is special, warms my heart, I miss them when they are gone, but I do not want to take them for granted anymore. What is a moment of sunshine you wish to never forget?
