There is treasure to be had if you only look for it.
Yesterday, I finally convinced my oldest son to go on a walk with us by promising him a rock hunt. I even got him to go a little further by telling him that the absolute best rocks were at the bridge – the furthest point we’ve walked together. As we set out, I realized I wasn’t sure we’d find all that many rocks on our journey. And I steeled myself for his disappointment and irritation that our walk had been for nothing after all.
You know except fresh air and exercise.
But then, as we turned onto a long stretch of road along a creek, he suddenly got very excited! “Look mom, a rock! And another one and another one!” He pulled his shirt away from his body to carefully cradle all his muddy treasures.
He must have had two dozen rocks by the time we got home. Then, he immediately set out to cleaning them with his brothers. It was a big, messy production. They spent quite a bit of time in the bathroom making sure each treasure was free of mud (my sinks were another story).
Today I’m holding tight to that memory of his eyes lit up over his new treasures. When we were almost home and his shirt was overflowing, he said “Mom, when I get back to school, can you be guest reader so I can show off my collection?”
Oh man, I miss that normal. Letting go of that normal breaks my heart. But here is a new normal, a new ordinary day full of so much to hold onto – if I only stop and pay attention.
“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.” -Mary Jean Irion
What about your new normal can you learn from and treasure today?
