We went on a walk today. Hyrum sat squished in the stroller with his puffy orange coat while I pushed him along with my dry-skinned, cold stiffened fingers and my aching ears. Meanwhile, our bright eyed four year old pedaled behind with her gold sequined boots and her freshly pumped tires yelling, “Feel the summer!”

Clearly while I was thinking about the relentless cold seeping through my clothes, she was rejoicing in the kiss of the sun on our backs and the clear sky above.

Thank you Ava, for reminding me to feel the summer in the midst of the cold. The sun is always there, even when we may not feel it.

*On that note… Jake and I have been watching the series “Human Planet” on Netflix and I never want it to end. It is FASCINATING. I could go on, but let’s just leave it as “highly recommended.” Anyway, in one of the episodes, it shows the way people live at high altitudes in the mountains. This one older lady lived blind for a few years, fetching her water barefoot along the cliffs of her village (along with all her other daily duties.)  She received the gift of her sight after a charitable doctor performed a cataract surgery.  Upon removing her bandages and walking the many miles back to her humble home she remarked, “This is the end of my problems.” I was impressed by her comment.  I don’t think she was naive in her optimism, I think she was simply grateful, simply focusing on her great blessing.  I’m sure life was still hard, but to her anything else that could be considered problem material was nothing more than daily living. She was feeling the summer regardless of any cold, and I thought that was really neat.

#mamanotes