Searching for the beauty in all things

This bunch of irises helps to remind me to find the beauty of all things. And that includes the beauty within. Not to judge myself based on how far, how fast or even the consistency of my run. The beauty to me is the fact that I do it!

This reminds me to find the beauty in my daughter - her laughter, her smile, the fact that she still wants to do the 'kissing hand' before we part in the morning - at age 7! It reminds me to find the beauty in my marriage - my husband and his kindness, patience and never-ending flexibility with schedules, child-rearing and 'work' that a marriage takes to be successful. And what does success look like anyway? The beauty of that is we make that choice - and it's what we model for our daughter.

When I went to change the channel the other day during a kissing scene on television. She said, "Mommy, why are you changing the channel?" I responded, "Because you don't need to see all that kissing!" "But Mommy,' she chimed in, 'you and Daddy kiss all the time!"

Although it may not feel that way to me, she sees an affectionate marriage and friendship between the two people who still have a great deal of influence on her! That made me proud to know that she notices that we still love each other so much!

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