Friday, November 23, 2007

Look for the Lighthouses

I just got home from seeing Dan in Real Life, and there's a great monologue in it about lighthouses—and how they guide you, not just when things are rough and you could crash and splinter into a million pieces, but also when things are calm and you just need a little help seeing what's in front of you.

Tonight, sitting around with my family for Thanksgiving, I was surrounded by lighthouses.

There are those that shine the brightest and widest light, directing to the safest and most stable harbor. They raised this little boat and helped her from hitting the rocks countless times over her 31 years.

There are the floodlights of sibling and sibling-in-law lighthouses, sending out glowing examples of what it means to be good parents. Their benchmarks are something to aspire to.

The younger lighthouses are playful beacons, shooting rays of laughter out into the dipping and swelling tides. They're a great reminder that sometimes you have to just go with the flow and find the humor to make it through.

The very tiniest and newest lighthouse in my life burns with wonder and fragile strength.

And the other lighthouses out there seem to just be illuminating the possibilities of magic that may be waiting in the waters ahead.

What a bright, bright night it turned out to be...

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