During dark times, I like to remind myself of the bright times that are just around the corner. I’ve worked very hard at becoming a glass half-full kind of a girl. I subscribe to the notion of “build it and they will come.” As in “live like it is it, and then… it becomes it.” Does that make sense?

This morning, I was organizing the laundry room, and I came upon a pile of clothing that needs special attention. A missing button, a torn seam, a tomato sauce stain. And amidst all of those sad items was a long-forgotten shirt that Pea wore nearly every day over the summer. And it made me smile. It is a glass half-full shirt. A bright spot in what could have otherwise been a dark day.

I had to smile at the summer memory of Pea, in this flowering bloom of a shirt, standing barefoot in the grass. Waiting on line for ice cream at a summer barbecue. The sun was setting, the air was cooling off, beer bottles were clinking “cheers.” Friends were chatting. Kids were screaming. Dogs barking. Laughter was all around. It felt like life just couldn’t get any better than that very night.

Seeing this shirt again reminded me of the carefree days of summer. I like thinking about those days. And sometimes, even a glass half-full kind of a girl needs a reminder that those days? They will come back around. Eventually. Everything always comes back around…

That’s my take on life. Love it or leave it. Or give it a try.