One morning, unable to sleep, I arose, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed outside. Thankfully I had the forethought to take a blanket since I was still in my nightgown, and I plopped down in one of the Adirondack chairs sitting on the pool deck.

A crescent moon was still in the sky as the sun was beginning to peek above the horizon. It was quiet, except for the occasional hummingbird zipping by within three feet of me, chattering as she flew. Even the ducks weren’t awake yet.

My eyes scanned the horizon and I watched dawn turn into daylight. The lake was still and then suddenly I saw a little head pop up and then back under the water. One. Two, then three. Slowly the turtles were waking, as well, leaving the still water with ripples.

The grass was damp from morning dew. I wondered when we would have our first frost, thinking to myself the only difference between the morning dew and frost is the air and ground temperature.

Our neighborhood heron, who I have named Henry, flew overhead. I know he was annoyed that I had interrupted his morning routine because he squawked as he flew by, as if to say, “Go back to bed!” For a brief moment I wanted to tell Henry the air is his domain, land is mine. But I knew Henry wouldn’t have been satisfied with that statement because you see Henry is more often than not sitting on my dock when I arise in the mornings. I was interrupting his morning routine rather than the other way around. Shame on me!

I thought about a conversation my daughter and I had a few days earlier. She had told me that her mind is in constant motion, even in the stillness of her day, which by the way isn’t often with two children. For example, she couldn’t figure out how hummingbirds make hummingbirds. Where do they nest? She cited a number of perplexing topics her mind couldn’t seem to grasp and I had focused on the humor in her thought process when I should have been considering the turmoil in the brain of someone who has an issue with anxiety. She was telling me it’s difficult to shut her brain off. I had to giggle to myself because as I’ve aged I have more trouble hitting the power button on my brain. Turning it off is pretty easy now that I no longer have children in the home.

Speaking of turning my brain on and off, I’ve found as I am now in my golden years I have a lot less to fill my mind than ever before in my life yet I am like a butterfly in a field of daisies. Truly. So few are my concerns today than in the yesteryears of raising a family, caring for my ill mother and working that I find it confounding to have trouble staying on task. My (baby girl) daughter still to this day as a grown woman will not let me stray too far from her when we are shopping for fear she won’t find me.

Suddenly I noticed a reflection on the water and as I glanced skyway there the sun was high enough in the sky now having risen above the roofline of the house across the lake. And as the sun rose higher, the reflection of the sunrise on the water slowly approached me. It was majestic. And I did what I do almost every morning when I awake. I thanked God for another day on His beautiful earth.

The noises of the beginning of a new day in the neighborhood began. I heard water running. Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I quickly realized, just as I was about half way in midair standing from my chair, it was the neighbor watering his flowers. I sat down waiting for him to turn his back. My morning “reflections” were quickly turning into a “girly show” and that would have been embarrassingly disastrous. Never would I ever be able to look Mr. Ho in the eye again had he seen me in all my glory.

It was a beautiful morning and the only evidence I had was in my minds eye. I didn’t have a camera close by to photograph the beauty and majesty of a new day that morning.

But later that week, one evening I noticed the weather was cool with a light breeze. My husband and I wandered out to the porch swing and we sat chatting about the many blessings in our lives. As we were talking, I looked across the lake … and once again … reflections. It was the reflection of the lights of a home beaming off the water. I hurriedly told him my story of getting up one morning and how much I enjoyed that quiet time with just my thoughts. “Quick! Quick! Take a picture of the water! I didn’t have my camera the other morning when the sun was reflecting off the water, but we can get a photo of the lights on the water tonight!”, I said.

Reflections … whether they be what we see with our eyes, or what we think in our minds, all can be either good or bad. I’ve often been referred to as a “Pollyanna” which to me implies I’m too stupid to see the world as it really is. But I dare ask, who would choose to focus on darkness without some kind of flicker of light? Light offers hope. I’m far from stupid but I’ll keep my rose colored glasses on for now because whether early morning dawn or early evening dusk, I will always choose to see the light. I need my rose colored glasses! The light reflects brightly in my world! I challenge you to do the same!