Catching sunbeams.

For months I couldn’t write. Not a word. I called it choking on words. I was really choking on grief. The grief remains but the words came unlocked. Well. Maybe not fully. But enough to try again.

Last weekend we spent the day at a lake. Surrounded by family and love and all of the offerings that being together on a lake bring. Swimming and laughing and splashing and fishing and fun. I snapped photos of cousins whose love transcends the time between visits in that way that only exists between cousins.

Going through those photos I found one that took my breath away. Instantaneously. A gasp at the beauty of my daughter with her hand outstretched. I showed it to her and asked what she was doing. She replied “Catching Sunbeams”. And my first thought was Oh how I hope you see your own radiance. The sunbeams that live within you. Because I do. My second thought was that’s a damn good analogy for special needs parenting. Maybe even parenting in general. Maybe even life.

Because…Aren’t we all just catching sunbeams? Grasping at intangibles? Trying to hold on to the light in our lives while lighting the darkness for those we love? For me as a Mom it’s holding onto the memories of the good times while wading through the bad. It’s appreciating the good days all while trying to hold the memories of the bad ones at bay. Fighting not to let them encroach too far. It’s seeing the light in my daughters eyes when they are happy. Sunbeam moments are fleeting. Clouds can move in or the night inevitably darkens the sky. And we feel the absence of their warmth and radiance. For me the key is remembering that the shadowy, cold, dark place is temporary too. There are more sunbeams around the corner. Stretch out your hands and heart and see how many you can catch too…