Pretty Things

For the past few weeks, I've been having these little, intensely beautiful encounters.

I was jogging on the river path, which I learned curves around into the water in a little strip of land. I was thoroughly enjoying the crisp air and the sensation of running on a thin meter of land with water on each side, when two great blue herons arose, slow wings driving their ascent. I stopped and laughed in surprise.

The next week, as we neared the car, there was this sunset. Big, thick ripples of crazy neon blue, fuschia, and orange. The colors draped the entire sky, not just the section near the horizon.

Then, a few days ago: a shooting star. Its arc was picture-perfect, almost imaginary, like in a movie.

And then there's my kid.