A Year of Gratitude – July 15, 2024

I found this bit of gratitude growing outside the door of our public library. This hydrangea is positively covered with large flowers in this gorgeous violet color.

I was in a hurry when I stopped at the library today. I had a particular book I was going inside to pick up. I had a day full of appointments and meetings, errands, and to dos a mile long. I wasn’t planning to stop and take photos of flowers. I really didn’t have the time.

I took a deep breath and made the time. I only needed a minute. Yet it can seem impossible to find a minute on a busy day. My mind was already marching on to the next task, ready to cross off my stop at the library and move on to the next stop.

I wanted to be here, at the base of the granite steps of our library, taking in the beauty of these gorgeous flowers. So, I stopped. I watched them sway in the breeze for a minute, the purple flowers swaying on their leggy stems. Then I got out my phone and snapped a photo of them.

This hydrangea was here when I brought my little children to story time when they were small. That was a very long time ago. This hydrangea grew as they did and became something beautiful. 

It was such a treat to give myself a moment to think wistfully back to those days when I would hold their little hand in mine and climb these stairs. I remember how excited they always were to come to the library, to listen to a story and choose books to check out with their library cards.

The library is such a magical place. It’s full of new ideas, perspectives, and lands you might never visit but can see and read about as if you are there.

I was grateful that a memory from so many years ago inspired me to stop for a moment today and take in these gorgeous blooms. It would have been such a shame to miss them, to rush by without stopping to marvel at just how beautiful they are.

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.