Last night, a wink before sunset, Mom and I went on a walk through the fields and remaining woodlands here at the farm. The air was so fresh, the sky was perfect, the visibility allowed the purple Catskill mountains to frame the expanse of farmland, the grass was on the verge of displaying its true green splendor, and, best of all, I was with my mom.
My mom is a very special person to spend time with - she is an attentive listener, a dedicated encourager and a fabulous friend. We walked and talked, our feet sloshed around in our shoes as the moist fields seemed to have just reached their saturation level. We hopped over stones on the little creek bed that separates the diversion ditch and alpha fields and laughed and dreamed and were all around just so happy.
And then, for the first time in over five months, stunned by the beauty of the evening, we found ourselves just sitting, mesmerized, on the farm lawn facing westward into the departing day. The moment was spell-bounding. I felt so alive, so thankful and so present in the moment. It was just an ordinary day, but this little moment of it was a foretaste of paradise.
(And thank you to Brad Paisley for good country music and inspiration for the title of this post.)