What Happy Is

Footsteps in the Snow

We may be huddle inside sheltered from the cold, our "external" lives temporarily on pause waiting for the storm to pass, the sun to shine, the temperature to rise, but outside where the wild creatures grow life goes on unstopped by its own. Through the wind and the snow, little creatures make their way to sustenance, looking for scraps where they can, their lives at once tampered with and connected to ours. Squirrels munch, birds flutter, all while the blizzard goes on, unfettered by that into which they have been intricately woven, inexplicably created, and eternally bound. 

All of life is a miracle. My miracle today is bearing witness to its glory, its beauty, and its mystery.

Two Yolks

Life in Ifrane was definitely full of firsts: first international trip solo with two kids, first separation from extended family, first experience in country living, first immersion in a new culture, first realization that life could be so much more with so much less, and first taste of the abundance of nature. 

Growing up I have memories of stories told of two yolk eggs. My uncle was one who repeatedly spoke of these rare eggs and how surprised and delighted he gets when he cracks an egg to find two yolks. But while I had heard of them before, I had not met one in person. And while I carried his stories close to my heart and in my memory into adulthood, I thought these eggs were a myth until one day in Ifrane. 

As I was making breakfast one morning, the mythical magical eggs came to life. As I pondered which egg to take out of the refrigerator, I deliberately chose the larger egg. I was being a mom and wanting JR to eat I needed to provide more substance with only one egg. The egg seemed exceptionally big compared to its compatriots but I did not give it a second glance and thought that eggs came in all different colors and sizes. It was not until I cracked it open that I received the gift that was inside; two yolks to one white. Certainly a lesson in humility, abundance and gratitude. Finding the extraordinary in the every day and God every where. I paused, took a photo, savored the miracle of life in its simplest form, and moved on to enjoying the bounty of nature, sharing it with those nearest and dearest to me. 

This Life

Becoming

an inspiration for today. 

Gratitude

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."

~ Melody Beattie

Today I am grateful for being able to enjoy a sit down breakfast with my family ~
on a weekday!
manakeesh bi zaatar, olives, tomatoes and tea. 

Birthday Boy

A year ago today the stars aligned, the universe conspired and God gave his word: I was to have a son! Not another girl as the maternal fetal medicine doctor had written on that piece of paper she gave Jeff. Not another girl as Jeff later told his late grandfather. Not another girl as I later would come to know. Not a sister for JR. Not Josephine Ramez as Jeff and I decided to name her. Not Josie as JR got used to calling her. Not a third female to outnumber Jeff. But a boy. The son I had always wanted. The son I thought I was going to have during my first pregnancy. The son I most probably lost during the second and third pregnancies. The boy who would carry the name onward. A brother to JR. Another man in the house to hold it together, to balance it out, to make it whole. A year ago today we received the news and were left speechless. To this day, still, I often find myself much of the same ~ I wake up and amaze at the boy laying next to me; the son I always wanted never thought I would have.

Happy birthday Yousef. You have been a miracle, a blessing, a gift.