Desert Flower Smiles

I rode hell for leather to get there in time, my heart beating a million miles an hour, sweat beading on my upper lip, the work day forgotten in my haste and because, as always, I couldn’t wait to see you…..

You’d been begging me to ride bikes home from school for weeks and so despite it taking an extra forty five minutes in my day, I did it. Because like you said, it would be fun. And it was.

We rode side by side through the path so overcrowded wild flowers that they encroached on our wheels, forcing us to almost bump into each other over and over again. In full bloom, the colourful flowers made us shout out with delight every time we spotted a new colour, each and every little bloom, so dainty against the rugged, coarse desert terrain.

Ahead I saw the mother kangaroo and her baby bouncing across our path and as I looked over at you, just to make sure you could see what I could see, the sun shone on your face in a way that will remain etched in my mind forever.  Glowing, I watched your face break into a smile and sigh contentedly, both of us squinting into the light long after our bounding friends settled cautiously away from us in the shade, staring back at us.

The moment was perfect; one that you freeze frame in your mind to revisit later. Two happy hearts just gliding along in the flowers. The kangaroo and her baby, me and mine. You felt it too, you turned to me and said “I love you Mumma,” and I said “I love you too”.  We rode the rest of the way home in silence, both smiling over at each other. Just you and me and the wind in our face.

Twenty minutes later we were home, intently discussing  ice block rations with your two brothers with negotiations heightening over who should have what flavour. You’d already forgotten about the kangaroos and the wild flowers, but the feeling of the moment stayed with me.

It made me realise that every single day in life there’s a moment. A tiny shard of simplicity; pureness and beauty that makes the whole day breathe calmness. Today this was my moment, a moment that seeped into my consciousness and made me think about how very lucky I am.

Because, after all, it’s the little things that stay with us the longest.

What was your moment?