Thursday's Thought

It has been a soggy and dreary month in our nation's capital. This poses a particular challenge for the rain-averse mother of an active toddler. During a brief reprieve from the nearly three straight weeks of rain last weekend, my stir-crazy self eagerly began mapping out a week's worth of outdoor activities for the babe and me. Now that we've turned the corner into Spring we can finally get out! We'll visit the zoo! Hit all our favorite parks! Enjoy picnic lunches outside! Walk or bike EVERYWHERE.

But the respite proved brief, and as a new week began, the forecasters offered no hope of relief in the foreseeable future. Accordingly, I found myself grumpily greeting each grey day, inwardly bemoaning yet another search for creative indoor activities. On one particularly gloomy morning, after exhausting our usual rainy day repertoire of playing chef, performing ukelele concerts, and attending to the various needs of the babe's menagerie of stuffed and imaginary friends, I allowed my restlessness to pull me away to mundane household chores in an attempt to redeem the day.

Moments later I was stopped by a small voice, "Mama, will you read this book to me and Matt the lion?" "Of course," I responded, and we settled into the coziest corner of the couch. One book turned into two, two turned into four, and before I realized it, we had been reading, talking, and creating our own stories for well over an hour. 

As I marveled at how quickly the time had passed, I recognized we had stumbled upon the seemingly elusive beauty in the day. Yes - a fun and active outing in the fresh air would have been lovely. And I will always choose to be out and about rather than cooped up inside, but a morning spent sharing my favorite activity with my sweet girl is a treasure I was able to relish. I am well aware that such moments are fleeting, and I am determined to soak up as much of their sweetness as I can...

Are you allowing yourself to be dragged down by the weather or other trivial circumstance? Can you instead open yourself up to finding beauty in unexpected places? What joy can you find in an otherwise soggy and dreary day?