“There might be mermaids! Could there be? Why not?”
They’d been hiking around the park, hunting for grasshoppers. They kept hearing a whooshing sound. They gave up the hunt to follow the sound and discovered a mini waterfall spilling from the side of the hill.
They ran back down the hill to get me. “Mom! You’ve gotta see what we discovered! Come on!”
As we hiked the hill, I noticed the expanse of greener grass that had been watered by the spill. It spread down the hill like a lush blanket.
When we arrived at the point of discovery*, their imaginations took flight.
“Well there could be mermaids down there. The water is cool and clear. They like that kind of water.”
“Let’s call grandpa! He’s gotta see this!”
“There is so much water every where! Can this be our discovery?”
They were excited and pleased with what they hoped they were the first to see. They imagined all possible and impossible explanations.
We stood in the sun and watched the park drink up the sparkling pools of water.
For 60 minutes, I forgot about laundry, dirty dishes, weeds in the garden and to-do lists. For one whole lovely hour I was a kid who believed in the unbelievable.
There could be mermaids or pots of gold under rainbows or unicorns or charming princes.
There could be _________________________.
You fill in the blank with whatever it is that makes your day brighter – even if for only a minute.
*It turns out the source was a broken irrigation line, but it was fun imagining until reality set in.
Postcards From a Thriver is a new category on the blog.
Look for bright spots and examples of a thriving life.
Tags: a girl can dream, encouragement, friendship, life, thriving
Peace.
:)
Z,
Perhaps Peace is every bit as unbelievable as mermaids and unicorns?
I LOVE this category!! Reminds me of my sister and I “hearing” Santa on the rooftop when we were little kids. We really HEARD the bells jingling. If our parents were responsible, they never ‘fessed up, even in our adult years. Great memory. And Jen and Will will treasure this one.
Pat,
I was just reading an article about nostalgia and how folks who are nostalgic use memories (and the article even mentions homesickness) as a way to comfort themselves. I don’t know why I mention this other than I believe the more sweet memories my kids have (all of us have) the better we’ll be able to ride the more difficult times.
Does that make sense?
Thanks for sharing your sweet memory. ;)
Yes, sometimes it is hard to imagine a life with peace. As he rattles on me about procedures and protocols for co-parenting I find it hard to imagine life without the chaos. I want it! But I feel I will never have it, unfortunately. My bad attitude. lol
I believe in what you said to Pat about the sweet memories. When I was a kid and had a hard time sleeping because I was scared of something, I would go to a happy memory of building snowmen in my backyard with my dad. We had a blizzard year and the snow was perfect as we built a mound and rolled it all through the yard to see how big it could get before we couldn’t push it any farther. Still gets me through sometimes. :)
Z,
Oh, that’s a delicious memory. I can see you out there pushing with all your might!
Some days I think the Universe is testing me on the whole finding the silver lining thing. She says, “Here, Jesse, take this pile of crap. Now see if you can find the bright spot.
I like the challenge.
The kids and I are becoming quite skilled at it. Sometimes the only bit of lining we might find is the comedy of the situation, but it’s there. ;)
I like that it reminds me that I have a variety of feelings! Although being continuously happy is not a bad thing. lol
Z,
I think I’d like to try continuously happy. Is that possible for an INFJ?
I don’t know about permanently, but I have had some longer bouts of it lately! It’s when I realize that I have had some bliss that it swings the other way. Dammit. It’s not self inflicted…almost like a timer that says, “whoops! Time for a diversion.” Ugh.
Z,
It must be that stinkin’ pendulum – darned thing.
I know. I had a nice spell of happy. It was sweet, but wasn’t destined to last.
C’est la vie.
Lovely.
Toni,
Thanks for reading. :)