Live to Create|Create to Live

Snirt

My husband was raised in a place where winter reigns for eight months of the year and brings with it tons of snow, and lots of wind blowing off the prairie. Hence, snow + dirt = snirt. I remember as a child loving the beauty of fresh white snow—building forts with lots of tunnels but feeling disgusted once the grownups began clearing the streets and then driving all over that beautiful snow. The beautiful white snow was soon full of nasty dirt and auto exhaust. Ick.

Sometimes snirt reminds me of some people who start out their lives all fresh and somewhere along the way they start picking up all sorts of grime—can I still try to find the hidden beauty in them? And better yet, can they find the hidden beauty in me under all my grime?

Yesterday in the middle of a dreary January day I received a call from someone in my life who has unfortunately picked up a deep surface of grime and now  has another layer on it: dementia. But this call was full of unexpected and very welcomed brightness. He called just to say that he was feeling happy and he wanted me to know that he was feeling happy for once in a long while. His gruff voice was full of childlike wonder and beauty and for just a few minutes the grime was washed away.

Little bits of happiness are the fuel to move ahead and find the beauty—again.