Two days ago we drove to a neighboring city to get my second COVID vaccination shot.  We wanted to take advantage of being in a city we aren’t often in to have my ring soldered so James took it to the jeweler while I was getting my vaccination.  When he picked me up, he shared with me the slightly more complicated steps we need to go through to get the work done, but my ring had been cleaned by the jeweler and took on a whole new shine and sparkle.  I’ll admit, I’m not great about cleaning my ring.  I’m great at wearing it, in fact, I wear it all the time; in the garden, making bread dough; putting on lotion – I love my ring dearly but I’m really bad at keeping it looking its best.  Since being professionally cleaned, however, it has caught my eye a hundred times during the day.  The glitter and shine catch my attention while I teach, write or email.  It’s hard to believe that something as simple and mundane as polish could make such a huge difference, but it really has.

This last year has been a rough one for us.  For all of us, collectively, but certainly for James and me as well.  We have been more hurtful to each other at times than we have ever been, but we have also never worked harder to love each other.  Last night, in a moment of sweet tenderness and gratitude, James surprised me with a trip to the lake.  We sat in the truck eating a picnic dinner he had made and packed himself, full of many of my favorites and several small details to make it just perfect.  

As we stood on the frozen mounds of sand and ice, we talked about the times we’ve been at the lake before.  We thought about Jacob, just across the water in Chicago.  James made me laugh, as he always does. And as the colors of the sky turned to a beautiful pink and orange, I commented that the sun sets every single day and yet here we were, far from the only ones on the frozen beach, standing in awe of this as though it were unique, a rare marvel to behold.  Like my ring.  Something I wear every day that I tend to take for granted, but a little polish makes me see it as new.

Every single day we have the chance to make something special.  To treasure something mundane.  To look at something so banal and find inspiration, to find hope.  Every day we have the opportunity to make the ordinary extraordinary. And it doesn’t have to take much to put a little sparkle back into our lives.  A little polish, a little picnic dinner, a little thing like a sunset to fall in love again.  I am blessed by these little things.