take a picture, live your story

Today is the anniversary of my dad's death. I'm remembering the lessons and pain and the laughter that are part of me because he was here, because his life shaped mine.

I might not have picked this, all of it, if given the choice. But had I written my story before the pain, before the tears, it would have been a dull novel no one wanted to read. It is the journey, the complicated, the sorrow the pain the grief that make the joy and laughter and tenderness fall into a rhythm of beauty.

So I am living my story,
celebrating the choices,
wandering in the questions,
and giving myself some grace.

I will take a picture,
hold on to memories,
and create,
remembering that to to live,
truly live, is a privilege.