12.24.2011

Art is a shadow of what a person is thinking... a small glimpse of what they hold inside. Little secrets, regrets, joys... every line has its own meaning. ~Sarah, Los Cerros Middle School, 1999

Five Days in the Sunshine State...
                I went to San Diego to take pictures for a friend’s wedding this past week. It was a beautiful sunny day at the San Diego Temple; the perfect kind of day for a sealing. It was so sunny that I found everyone squinting their eyes in their pictures. Later on at the reception there was dancing, food, hot chocolate, S’mores, pies of all different kinds, and of course wedding cake. Inside there was a variety of soups and warm rolls to eat before delving into the variety of sweet things outside. There were fire pits filled with warm crackling fires, divine hot chocolate with whipped cream on top, marshmallows for roasting, and pumpkin, pecan, lemon, lime, and banana cream pies! All the guest’s stomachs were pleased with the yummy food. 
                As we sat by the fire warming our hands we talked, laughed, made new friends, and became reacquainted with old ones. We watched the dancing through glass doors and heard the music as it wafted on the soft breeze through the twinkle lit trees and to us by the fire. As I sat watching and listening, I found myself in wonderment at the amazing world we live in and the great lives we lead. It’s a world where people talk, laugh, and dance the night away. True, we may meet our far share of troubles along the way, but ultimately we lead quite happy lives. It was like heaven was on Earth that night; everyone joined in the festivities. Nothing else mattered. Only the warmth of the fire and watching happy people, young and old, dance late into the night occupied our minds. The only way I can think to describe it is being completely relaxed and ready to face whatever came next. I had a belief in myself that I had never considered before
               Each day we find little things to laugh at and moments that make us smile. These instances remind me of Rob Thomas’s song Little Wonders. “It’s these little moments, the little wonders and twisted turns of fate, when time falls away; it’s these small hours that remain” with us. Time seems to speed up and there’s nothing to hold it back, so we make the most of the time we have together and part after lengthy goodbyes. Even then we aren’t gone from those happy moments, they stay with us as we turn them around and around in our minds. We moll those few days of heaven, family, and friends over in our heads, soaking up every last ounce of warmth and laughter before placing them on a special shelf in our brains to be revisited when we are in need of comfort. They will also come in handy during those rare times when we meet an old friend and reminisce for hours of those days we spent in the Sunshine State. 

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