It’s the end of August whether I hate it or not. Though I have made my peace with all of the seasons, letting go of summer always feels like saying goodbye to my best friend at the airport when they’re leaving for about nine months. Life just isn’t quite as grand without my escape to breathe and be and swim and sun. Sigh. I will surely squeak in a few more of these beach moments before the snow flies. This time, I read, I smiled, I rock-hunted, and I swam and swam and swam. I was the only person swimming in about 70 degree Lake Superior for as far as I could see. Crystal clear water with perfect waves and a blue, blue sky. Delightful and perfect. It felt like my last gulps before a fast.

As I hung out at the sandbar, this beauty came to me. It floated on all of the waves from who knows where, the only one of its kind that I saw all afternoon, and it came right to me as I stood way out in the water, far from shore.

It was a leaf that spoke volumes.

Later, as I hunted for treasures along the shore, I reached for an Agate only to have it swiped from my grasp by Mother Superior. Apparently, she needed that treasure all for herself. I pouted for a quick second before she handed me a perfectly triangular piece of gorgeous beach glass. Beach glass is my ultimate treasure, having taken perhaps a hundred years to be washed into smooth submission by water. It had been sitting right next to my beach chair the whole time I had been there. It does take us awhile to become, doesn’t it? Shaped and smoothed and all of our edges rounded into a thing of beauty.

It made a pretty obvious point to me. I can spend my time fretting over what isn’t or revel in the treasure right in front of my face — just waiting to be noticed and appreciated and grasped.

These upcoming seasons, even the snowy ones, are short and have their own magical beauty if we’re looking. Even in 2020, there have been treasures to uncover and take hold of. Under and behind all of the storms and struggle, there are some real beautiful moments to hold and appreciate and acknowledge. Look for them. I know I will.

What have been some of the unexpected blessings or hidden gems you have had in this tumultuous year?