Waking up, taking in the moment, I slowly looked from one end of the room to the other, appreciating how vastly different it was from my room back home. The space was open, its white stucco walls undecorated aside from a few insects that had camped on it overnight. The netting around the bed was securely tucked around the oversized king mattress, providing me the security I needed to fall asleep soundly despite the large black spiders I’d found in our room after dinner.
It was Easter morning. The eco lodge where we were staying sat roughly four miles up a steep and unpaved road perched above a little town called Dominical, on the Pacific side of the Costa Rican coast.
I could hear the kids chitchatting in the room next to us. Through their giggles, I started to shape their conversation. They were proudly getting themselves dressed on their own, commenting on how happy Dad and I might be, secretly, so they thought, hoping it would get them some extra time in the pool. Raegan peeked her face through the unlocked gate that separated our room from theirs. “Mommy, are you up yet?”
I pushed my feet through the net and called her to me. Aaahhhhh…my morning Raegan hug—generous and grounding.
After I changed into my pool clothes, we headed downstairs for breakfast. The house mascot, Buddha, a white cat we thought was half blind, sat on one of the wicker chairs surrounding the pool. Rae cuddled her as if she was her own.
After breakfast Raegan and I toured the eco property where Raegan pressed fresh sugar cane, enjoying the sweet juice her hard work produced. We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming. Braeden found a centipede and the kids took turns perfecting their side dives.
I remember distinctly feeling the last rays of sunshine warming my face before it started its descent towards the ocean.
The trees covering the hills below were lush and green. The sun had worked its way through the low hanging clouds, casting bright yellow and orange hues on the ocean and lower valley. The trees closest to us framed the view like our own perfect window.
Raegan lifted her hands in a V above her head.
“Happy Easter Jesus!” she yelled.
My baby girl wholeheartedly rejoicing in this foreign place—it was perfection. I would never forget this Easter moment—a flawless blend of nature, God, harmony and humanity.
I wanted to share it with family and friends, so I pulled out my iPhone and clicked a few shots.
Got it, moment captured.
As we turned to walk towards the kitchen to join the others for dinner, Raegan said, “Happy Easter Mommy, I love you.”
“I love you too sweetie. And you know what else I love? I love being together in different places in the world on special days like today. I hope we have many many more of them together.”