The Sun Rose Today

It's 4:23am. I can't sleep. I lay in bed for a while hoping sleep will come over me. A dream will coax me back into slumber. He sleeps soundly next to me. My love. My soul. It's a big and long day for him today. He has a fever. 

I quietly leave the warmth of the sheets and place my bare feet on the floor. Cool. Hard. I grab my smokes, my lighter. My phone. 

I go outside and sit on the balcony. The world is silent. Nothing but the hum of air conditioners floating in the breeze. 

 I snap a picture of the lights twinkling in the darkness. It was dark when we arrived yesterday. Almost changed rooms. This view appears to be nothing more than of a small channel waterway and a concrete parking lot. We had hoped for a view of the ocean. I wonder to what view the sun will give way. In just a few hours. 

Will I still be awake. 

I open my phone and scroll through FaceBook. Not much new since yesterday when we boarded our flight. Sweden memes. Dogs smiling for the camera. Quotes about the wonders of coffee and friendship and kittens and love. 

As I scroll through and read and smoke and think, the hours fly. Sleep hasn't found me yet. I start playing solitaire on my phone. My thoughts wander into a deluge of work, the past, the future. What will I do with my day today? One day here. Somewhere new. I hope my daughter is sleeping soundly through her cold. I hope his fever breaks soon. 

I quickly catch a glimpse from beyond my phone. The sun begins to rise. The city begins to move. It's as if the sun shyly asks permission to release her splendor. Colors begin to emerge from the darkness.  I snap a quick pic. Maybe I'll post it on Instagram. 

I bury my eyes back into my phone. 

And then it happens. For the next ten minutes I am taken back. The sun is here. Hues of red and pink and blue. The colors change every second. I am a child eagerly peering through a kaleidoscope in wonder. I don't want to miss it. I snap several pictures. 

Each one more beautiful than the one before. 

Then I stop. 

I sit back and watch. I take it all in. I am in the moment. Here. Now. I'm moved. 

I am enveloped in a warm soft blanket of love. Joy. Gratitude. I can't help but cry. 

I wonder if anyone else is watching this glory. Smoking their cigarette. Their bare feet on the cold tile floor. I wonder if the people driving on the bridge towards the sun are as amazed as I. 

I am still overcome. 

I think about how fortunate I am to be here. To be a witness to something so beautiful in a place far from home. I feel immense gratitude that life has brought me to this very moment. 

I reminisce. My journey to Now was not always easy. (who's ever is?) But my path has always been lined with love. The love from my daughter, my brother, my dearest friends whom I miss so much...they were the beautiful flowers along the roadside. Giving me hope and courage to keep going. 

My path continues. And the sun just reassured me that every little thing is gonna be alright. 

His alarm is about to ring. 

I think I'll make him some coffee.