I’m a firm believer in the idea that one must always have something to look forward to. It can be big or small, a camping trip or a coffee, but it is so important to have something to keep you looking up and out. It is incredibly motivating to have something to light up your life. Sometimes you need something larger to get you through a rough month, a beacon of light to get you to the shore; sometimes you need something for a rough day, a tiny spark in a world that feels dark. Something to celebrate in the daily ebb and flow of life.
I went camping recently and while the clouds blew over and the thunder rolled in, I boiled some water over the campfire to make hot chocolate – if it was going to rain, I was going to make some sunshine! Meanwhile, my husband, Peter, roasted a couple of marshmallows which he then plopped on top of our hot chocolates and we stole into our tent, looking forward to the cozy afternoon ahead.
We ended up getting a tornado warning, so we packed up our tent as quick as anything and I ended up drinking my hot chocolate in my camp mug as we drove away through the storm. It was hurried, it was hilarious, and it will be such a great memory. The disappointment of a camping trip cut short was sweetened with a little hot chocolate with campfire-roasted marshmallow. As Mary Poppins says, “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” and if I’m honest, I quite like the sugar in my life.