The seasons dawdle. We do too. Just when we think it is Spring, the cold winds whip. And our faces become numb with the icy realization that things are never as they seem. Or what we expect. The mystery of life comes alive every single day.

This weekend we spent the entire time outside. Our bodies adjusted to the elements. The rain, the wind, the sun, and the cloud bursts of water falling deeply on our skin. And yet, we were happy.

Happiness is indeed a state of mind. As I turned the page to another year, I received love that warmed my heart. Videos, song, WhatsApp, Facebook, phone calls. And in the safety of this warmth, I smiled. The sun burned down on the day of that page-turning beauty. Friends came with champagne and good wishes. My daughter, a force of Nature with a brilliance surpassing any measurement of Fahrenheit, Celsius or Kelvin, showed up to say: “Yes, this is the day.” And I smiled again, with a heart-burning love that washed over me. An overwhelming power. A knowing that everything up to now was worth it.

And every day thereafter will be too.