You normally have to be bashed about a bit by life to see the point of daffodils, sunsets, and uneventful nice days.
~ Alain de Botton

Sometimes my week passes in a blur of fog. I can’t always remember what I did or lived. But there’s usually something that stands out.

This week it was thousands of brilliantly colored orchids — and one cranky old man of a horse.

On a bit of a whim, Luke and I went to see the Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden. I wanted to be surrounded by color and life. The orchids were so vibrant and bright, the colors so saturated that my eyes couldn’t drink them in enough!

They’re exotic, high-maintenance little flowers. I think they’re kind of cute — like ladies in bonnets. But it was the smaller details that caught me: water droplets clinging to delicate petals, the way the blossoms drape instead of hang, and how relaxed Luke looked strolling so casually among them — content to spend an afternoon with his mom and a sea of pretty flowers.

Coco is the other standout of my week.

He’s a cranky, ornery old man of a horse at the barn where I volunteer. He’s feisty, grumpy, and quick to nip if you’re careless — and sometimes even when you’re careful. Honestly? I think that’s why I love him the most.

Coco will allow me to stroke his neck and lean my head against him — ears pinned back in theatrical disapproval — while simultaneously bowing his head and leaning into my affection.

If the moments that cut through the fog are wandering among thousands of colorful orchids with my kid and sharing a peaceful, quiet moment with a beloved cranky old horse… then maybe my week was a bit better than I give it credit for.