I was making dinner and noticed that the light cast by the sunset was really unusual. So, I went and looked out the window, and the entire sky was a brilliant orange color. It was gorgeous. And I wanted to take some pictures. 
So the kids and I quickly threw on some shoes and we went up to the roof (38th floor). And just look at that. The pictures don’t even begin to do it justice! Manila generally has beautiful sunsets. But man, this one really knocked it out of the park. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen.
And it was just cool to spontaneously do something so simple. I just felt so at-peace. And I really enjoyed being up there with my critters. Generally when we do anything as a family, there is nothing spontaneous about it. I research the heck out of it. And I have everything planned. (For better or for worse).
It was a good reminder to me that life is made up of these kinds of small and simple moments. And that you have to make it a conscious decision to make them special. You need to be paying attention and you need to be willing to drop your to-do list to take advantage of those little moments. Cause they won’t stick around. And I think that is where I struggle the most. I tend to get very focused on my to-do lists. (look, the helipad)
One of my fondest memories of my mom was something very much like that. She woke me up early one summer morning, and we drove out to a rural-ish area near our house (this was before we lived in the current house) and we picked raspberries. They were just growing wild, off the side of the road. And we just talked. And then we came home and made jam. It just kind of came out of nowhere.
And I decided that I need to be better about taking advantage of little opportunities to bond our family. And while it is a good thing to plan out more elaborate activities…
…sometimes, what is needed is just a little spontaneity.
