February 4

After a lovely weekend away, we retrived the kiddos from Adam's parents and returned home late this afternoon. But we didn't hit the road until we'd taken one more stroll around Carmel this morning.

We enjoyed a walk by the ocean, lots of window shopping, a stop at a toy store I really like (because "40" doesn't mean "too old to love puzzles and Pusheen"), and lots of pausing to admire cute cottages all along the way. (We both, as we realized, most appreciate the ones that look like they were plucked from a trolls-and-fairies fantasy land.)

Although there were plenty of fun moments to recall, one of my favorites was quite literally a simple stitch in time. As we passed a shop --and I have no idea which one it was-- we saw a little girl standing on the sidewalk, staring up at a window display. When I glanced over to see what had captured her attention, I saw a giant painting of Marilyn Monroe blowing a bubble. A second later, the little girl --whose eyes were still fixed on that image-- started to laugh. It was a sweet, lilting laugh that made me giggle, too.

There's something just so precious about moments like that; when something completely random and unexpected catches the eye and tickles a funny bone. It was a lovely reminder that though there are many aspects of this life that are hard and painful and difficult, there are also opportunities for merriment, and those split-second experiences can often be a day's most notable hour.