A Year of Gratitude – February 24, 2024

I happened upon my gratitude today while running errands. I got in the car and headed to the grocery store. I was driving down our street towards the intersection on my route, about two miles away.

This is a route I travel several times a week. We’ve lived here for nearly 20 years, so I have made this same exact trip more times than I can count. But today, the trip was different for a very unexpected and welcome reason.

As I neared the intersection, I stopped in the line of traffic at the red light. I waited for the light to change and for traffic to start moving. As I waited, I turned to my right and spotted something that made me do a double take.

There, in the stand of trees near the road was a little raccoon. It was sitting high up in the tree, as raccoons do during the day. It was in bright sunshine on this chilly day. I don’t know how or why I happened to notice that tiny spot on the tree from a distance far enough away that I shouldn’t have seen it at all. But I did.

Can you see it? The raccoon is to the left of the tree in the middle of this photo. You’ll find it about halfway up the tree, sitting on a small dead branch, hugging the trunk of the tree.

I grabbed my phone and took a quick picture while traffic was still stopped. The light changed and I continued on my way to the store. When I got to the store’s parking lot and parked the car, I picked up my phone to see if the little raccoon was visible on the photo. I was so glad that it was.

I did my shopping and returned home safely. On my way home, traffic was moving and while I glanced in the direction of that grove of trees, I could not see if the little raccoon was still there or not.

I couldn’t wait to show the photo to my children, to share the little creature I had spotted. I’m still not sure why I even turned to look towards these trees, but I am so glad that I did.

Finding that raccoon was a reminder to always be looking for tiny glimmers in our day, little sights, sounds, and joy in our days. You never know where and when you might find them, but they are there. Often, they are in plain sight just like this raccoon, right in the midst of our busy day. The real trick is in being present and giving yourself the time to notice, to see and hear those glimmers before the moment is gone.

I hope that your day included a glimmer of joy and that it treated you kindly.

This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.