Every morning I whip the blanket off their crate, unlatch it and tell them "Good morning, girls! Good morning, good morning!"
They're usually still sleepy-eyed, rockin' the bed head look, and they'll slink from their crate and stretch their tiny backs and legs, then slowly start to prance about my feet with enthusiasm. I'll squat down and scratch their little heads, picking them up for a quick morning squeeze.
They'll wait for me to complete whatever task is next on my list, all the while waiting by the utility closet door. The longer I make them wait the more anxious they'll get, whimpering and whining at first, resorting to barking if necessary. When I finally decide they've waited long enough I'll retrieve their morning treat from the closet. They'll jump and dance about in ecstatic circles, bouncing off my legs again and again. Then I'll open the door to the reading room full of warm, morning sun, as they race inside with their treasures.
They'll each find a patch of sunlight and settle in for a leisurely morning. They won't move from their warm little patches of light until the sun rises high enough in the sky to escape the grasp of the windows.
Every morning is the same, girls in patches of sunlight.
And every morning it reminds me again,
I want to lay in the Sun today too, if only for a moment. I want to curl up with a book somewhere in the Sun and let it's warmth soak into bones, let it heal me body and soul. Yes, that's what I'll do. Yes, that's what I must do.
Sometimes it's literal sunlight, sometimes metaphorical, but every day I intentionally seek out a ray of light here or there and soak it in... a great chapter from Anne Lamott, a deep orange egg yolk spilling over a slice of buttery toast, a warm conversation with someone I love, a quiet evening walk down Swiss with my husband...patches of sunlight. A deeply felt psalm, a moment of realization and teaching, a silly laugh standing in my kitchen just because...patches of sunlight. An encouraging email from an old friend, watering the little pots on our porch, a steaming cup of tea that warms from the inside out...patches of sunlight.
Don't miss them. Even on dark and dreary days, don't miss them. They matter.
What are the patches of sunlight in your everyday?