pink horizons.

the view out of the window is one that most probably wouldn't find pretty, but i do.  i see the parking lot diagonal our house, along with the empty car repair shop, and the trash and weeds that dot the parking lot.  i see smoke rising in the distance, just beyond the top of the building, from a local factory.  there are light poles and telephone lines.  but if you look for the beauty it's there.  just over the top of the building, is the pink of the skyline as the sun starts to sink down in the sky.  and for some reason, it balances out the scene, and makes it all beautiful.
i think i like it so much because it's how life is.  it's so easy to spot the ugly that dots the world.  but it's much better if you look past it to the beautiful pink.  it's there.  it just takes a little more work to see it.  i think it's really easy for people to look at our lives and see the hard.  for some people, i think they can't get past the hard and ugly things that dot our lives, and see the pink over the top.  but we see it.  we choose to live in the pink.
the scene i'm seeing, is all being taken in while almond shaped eyes flutter and fight sleeping, and two chubby hands reach up to feel my neck while i sing.  as i glance around, what was once the room that only my husband and i shared, i see a tea set and a baby blanket, big's sleep cap, and children's books.  big's pillow is still mixed in with ours from the four of us snuggling in bed together this morning.  i have one of those moments where i can't help but be in love with our family.

and maybe it was the pink of the day that helped me feel that way.

big has been interested in learning about maple syrup since we read about it in the little house series.

we found out there is a maple farm only about 15 minutes away.

they even shared samples.

it was a pretty big hit.  larry boy looks like he would really like to try some too.

making a silly face, and rocking her new glasses she picked out.  apparently i'm raising a hipster.

abigail holding the bottle we bought outside of the cabin where their retail shop is.

the building they do the boiling in (and the name of the place).

the lines that ran from the tapped trees throughout the woods all into the one building.

 because a trip to a place that makes maple syrup (larry boy included), and an evening spent playing at the park makes everything about the first days of spring feel good.  it makes all the ugly and trash of life feel like it no longer even exist.  it seems like all i could see was the pink.
but, then again, perhaps, an evening at home, playing, laughing, and enjoying life makes the pink stand out more.  or perhaps it's that moment, when those things you have been working with your little on, over and over, come to fruition, and you realize that your child is a genius...or at very least understands way more than you realized.

it doesn't matter the reasons so much.  what matters is that on the days that the trash and weeds stand out, you squint your eyes, and find the pink horizon just over the top of the abandoned building. the beauty is there.