Magical Moment 347, "Warmth"

There are times when it just feels like nothing is right. When all the weight of the universe is beating down on me and I can’t seem to find anything positive, despite the obvious blessings that so abundantly surround me. They say that the countless wonderful things in life are forgotten in an instant as soon as one negative thing happens. Maybe that’s why God gave us memories. They’re like comfort food, like a blanket in the cold, or sometimes like medicine. You keep them stored and then pull one out when you need it. But I think that too is a choice. Happiness is an effort. And that’s kind of what this daily blog is about.

Today, I was encouraged by a long forgotten memory, when I watched a young teenager exit the passenger side of a car. Her father was dropping her off for ballet class. She simply said, “See you after class, dad. Love you.”

Suddenly, who knows why these ancient thoughts appear after a decade or more of absence (I suppose because I needed it today), but I was flooded with memories of my own dad. I can’t recall one single day, out of all the thousands of times he dropped me off at school growing up, that I didn’t lean over to the driver’s side of his pick-up truck for a kiss on the cheek and a “love you.” Even as a teenager, even if my friends were watching, even if I was in a hurry. It was habit. And this happy recollection turned into dozens more, lifting my spirits.

I tip my hat to the Creator who cares about little ol' me, even about the sparrow who falls out of the sky, so much that He led me to that moment today. At that specific time, in ear shot of that young girl, at this ballet class in New Jersey. When I needed a warm blanket, I got one, and it was enough to bear the rest of cold.