Some Days, It’s Bumpy
Some days, the profound and poetic surface in everyday moments. Powerful, poignant pockets of life, remarkable in their simplicity.
My family is navigating a big transition. There’s been an undercurrent swirling for some time but we only just realized the shift. Like when you’re splashing and frolicking in the salty waves on a hot, sunny day and look up to find your beach umbrella and chairs nowhere in sight on the shore. The number on the tower has changed. The coastline, however familiar, noticeably different.
I write a lot about seasons but the tides change too. The moon in her silent glory manifests shifts beyond our comprehension. Ordinary as her phases. Staggering as an eclipse.
Amidst these shifts, I took my son to my favorite beach in the place we will soon call home (aptly, called Moonlight). Walking along the shore, he stopped to examine the many smoothed rocks, picking up his favorites for safe keeping as we explored.
After a time, he threw one of the rocks into the water. It skipped once or twice before making its splashy entrance. He told me he’d thrown the bumpy rock because he was releasing the bumpiness of life. I asked him what the bumpiness of life was (admittedly, a little worried that it might be me or this impending change). He said the bumpiness signified imperfections and challenges and releasing them was about not letting them stop you. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes as my body struggled to contain my love for him. In that moment. In this brief miracle we know as life.
A short while later, he was drawn to a rock he really liked. It was bumpy too. Yet, he didn’t want to throw this one. I suggested, perhaps this was him embracing the bumpiness of life and he said back to me, “Maybe that’s how you release it.”
I don’t know if I will ever be able to hold the enormity of the wisdom and wonder of this incredible creature I’ve been blessed to behold. This life that passed through me and gives mine meaning. And magic. My love and my gratitude, infinite as the distant horizon. Deep as the ocean. Big as the sky. Eternal as the moon.
