Life is Grand

Life is indeed grand, but I have trouble putting all I'm thinking about grand life into thoughts and pictures. When I think, "Life is grand," I think of all the inbetween times. Times that don't mean anything, but really mean everything. I think of The Most Beautiful Place. It's this place that Shane and I passed through while backpacking with the dogs one summer. We were so hot and thirsty and had just hiked up Payne Creek. We stopped and drank from a creek and looked around. I must have been delirious from all the hiking and lack of water on the trail, but I thought, this is the most beautiful place I've ever seen. It was a giant grove of aspen trees on top of a hill. That's all. And I was there to see it.

I think of being in the hospital waiting room and realizing that I am really and truly loved and cared for. "People really care, people are truly good inside," I thought as complete strangers shared their heartbreak with me, shared coffee and meals. When friends called from all over the United States to say they were praying for us. When friends and co-workers brought over meals. When my dad took three weeks off of work to stay with me.

Life is grand when I look at my baby sleeping and think, "I am so unworthy to take care of this little one, but I was blessed with her anyway."

Life is grand when I realize how lost I would be without Shane's love.