A five-minute free write on the prompt “Opportunity” with Lisa Jo Baker and the Five Minute Friday crew

I almost missed it. Opportunities for wonder and beauty can be sneaky like that…

Christmas exploded in our house with all the intensity of an atomic bomb made entirely of lego and playmobile miniatures. There was also the Pumpkin Soup Catastrophe of New Years day in which the entire pot erupted over my stove, floor and up to my microwave. There was a need for some pretty serious mop up. I thought about calling in the national guard, a not for profit rehabilitation team…something. Instead I spent the last two days on the offensive, stealth attacks on the toy room, chemical weaponry on the kitchen. I was nearly complete yesterday afternoon, just needed to vacuum and mop but somehow mini lego bombs kept exploding under my feet (literally) and I was getting frustrated.

The man said he would take the kids outside so I could finish and so I was helping get the gear on when I remembered what year it is. This year, for me, is the year of NOW. A year to embrace the moment I am in, of trying to live them fully and attentively, of noticing beauty and not trying to rush to the next thing.

I could have missed it. The trees laden with liquid diamonds, frozen onto their limbs. The sky so blue in made my eyes sting with all the beauty. The cold of the day intense enough for our uncovered faces to remember we are alive.  The forest herself quiet in reverence of the Beauty Maker. My daughter squealing, my son playing tricks, my husband tossing his head back with a deep belly laugh.

This year? I’m not going to miss it…