Fire and Ice

I walked out from the grocery store into the most beautiful hue of orange that totally surrounded me. For a second I was panicked and wondering why everything was literally glowing as if I was about to look up and see a huge fire before my eyes. I looked up to see the most beautiful sky scape. The sunset was the fire that lit up the air around me. I just stopped, with a cart full of groceries in the pedestrian walk way. I pulled out my phone and snapped off pictures left and right. Thankfully it was late and no one was waiting for me to collect myself and move out of the way of the traffic lane. I don't know that I ever looked back down as I thankfully made my way without collision to my car. I just sat there and watched as the sky was rippled with orange, pink, blue, white. The sun hiding behind the clouds in the horizon and illuminating the sky as though it were a lake of gasoline set afire and rippling. I loaded my groceries and stumbled in the drivers seat, and stared. My stressful day and sleep deprived body was suddenly awake and happy to be here. I drove off in the opposite direction of the sunset and watched it fade away in my rear view mirror. I thought about how I let all the commotion and progress of this world get to the very core of my being. I didn't enjoy the day off I had with my daughter, in fact I had almost wished I was working. But I looked back on the day and thought it was one of the best ever. We played and laughed, walked and napped. And I talked with her and helped her pronounce new words in her vocabulary. I suddenly enjoyed every single second of our day together. Even the part where she cried for ten minutes straight in the car about having to say goodbye to the puppies at grandma's house. Then my thoughts went to my husband. I am so wrapped up in myself and being a mother that I forgot to be a wife. I just assumed he would always be there and put up with my moods. Always tolerate my sporadic behavior of cleanliness and disorganization. I'm sure there are more days than not that I tell our little girl I love you hundreds of times, but I never tell him the same. It's easy to think that the people we love most will always be here to ignore and forget. But someone somewhere out there thinks he is the most amazing man they have met. They wonder if his wife knows how lucky she is to have him in her life. Someone who would gladly spend their days letting him know how much he is loved. I use to be that person, and I have slowly let the everyday nuisance of what I thought our life together was tick away. I don't think that is how you get to be in your 70's, still holding hands while on a walk. And all because this beautiful sunset ablaze in the sky rocked my world as I left the grocery store. Heaven on earth?