be.here.now. (2/30)

There was this ordinary mother at the beach yesterday who struck me as rather extraordinary.  It appeared to me that she lived with struggles in her life (the kind that you can see and I'll simply leave it at that), but what reeled me in was her enormous joy in the face of them.  It was contagious.  She was there alone with her children and they had her undivided attention for the whole afternoon.  She was playing tirelessly and genuinely laughing out loud with them.  They were all being silly : dunking one another and having serious splash wars.  I overheard her having a heart to heart conversation with her teenage son.  What she said and the way she said it...well it was rather poignant.  I had this strong urge to swim up to her and tell her how inspiring she was.  I wanted to tell her that I admired her...struggles and all.  I wanted to applaud her as a mother.  I didn't, but we did share a smile and what I can only define as a knowing glance from one mama to another that spoke volumes.  Goodness begets goodness I know.  She made me want to be good.  She inspired me to be a better mother yesterday.  She made me want to get out from behind my book and get in the thick of things with my kids.  She made me want to plug in and be 100 percent present.  She reminded me : be. here. now.  I did.  I was.

I only wish I had told her.

(For the next 30 days I'll be participating in Christina's just one paragraph challenge.)