One of The Greatest Moments in History

It was sunset on August 26th.  A blazing blush-colored hue emanated from sea to sky, painting the horizon in a supernatural light.  I breathed in the moment, smelling the salient sea air, tasting the sharp, salty breeze on my tongue, listening to the distant call of the seagulls as they sailed gracefully like angels on the wind.  I thought about my friends and family back east bracing for a mega-storm and whispered silent prayers for mercy out into the Universe.  From my mouth to God's Ears.... From my heart to God's Heart....

Turning around, I glanced through the screen door and noticed my youngest Angel Daughter sitting on the bed in her room doing whatever it is that 17 year olds do on a quiet Friday evening when all of their friends are "busy".  I wondered if she just had a need to feel anchored to home, her restless spirit usually so quick to wander from here.  Feeling the consummate pull of 18 looming just around the corner, 17 year olds tend to have an unconventional "push me, pull me" attitude about home, wanting to go, but needing everything to stay just as it should be, even though....

At seventeen I learned the truth...

So I called to her, this child of mine.  I told her that she was missing one of the greatest moments in history!  I told her to put down her phone and to come outside.  "Hurry, hurry!"  I called.  "You are missing it!"  Slowly, she diverted her eyes from the various screens flickering below her and looked up at me with those eyes.  "Come", I said, and with a typical 17 year old swagger, she made her way out the screen door.  I did not have to tell her to look because it was all around her.  Cotton-candy colored clouds mirrored back onto themselves by the ocean sparkling below.

She didn't say anything at first.  She just pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and snapped a quick picture of the horizon.  "Beautiful, Momma", she said.  "Yes honey, yes it is.  Yes, you are."

We locked eyes like only one can do with someone who knows them on a level so intimately that they can almost read each other's  feelings.  I stood beside her, my breath slowly taking on the rhythm of hers.    We stood there for a while, just staring, just taking it all into our hearts.  And it went through my mind, this is one of the greatest moments in history.