Our family of four attended a birthday party at the lone restaurant on the top of Mt. Baldy a couple of weeks ago.  Riding a rickety old ski lift was the only way to get up the mountain.  My husband wore our two-year old in one carrier, and I wore our 6 month old in another.  They made us ride separately because you can only have two “people” per lift.  Since when did a 15 lb person count?  Just kidding.

So the party was crazy with two tiny people to keep track of in the midst of many full-sized people.  We did a little dance, sang a little song, and it was time to ride down the mountain in the dark.  Now, I live in a city where I often get honked at because I forget to turn my headlights on at night.  There are so many lights all around me that I don’t even notice.  But Mt. Baldy is in the wild wilderness compared to my home.

So here I am, isolated by darkness… riding on this rickety ski lift.  It was just the stars, mountains, towering pine trees with pinecones the size of footballs, and me.  At first it was scary.  But then, it was amazing.  I take a deep breath and the refreshing smell of nature revitalized me.  The lighted skyline of Los Angeles decorates the view 40 miles away.   The silhouette of the giant trees and the mountains are both humbling and awe-inspiring.  As I fill my lungs with the pure air I cannot believe the view that I am beholding while  gliding down the mountain in silence and serenity.

I am reminded by the slightest wiggle that my precious baby boy is strapped to me.  I look down, assuming he is asleep.  But instead, his perfect little face and hope-filled eyes are fixated on me.  Such beauty surrounds us, but his jaw-dropped expression reveals that he is mesmerized by the face he sees every single day.  I was overcome by him.  His purity.  The simplicity, and complexity wrapped up in his perfect little body.

I am awestruck by the gorgeousness of nature–and that it could never compare to the beauty embodied by my little boy.