The Sweet Light

Do you know what the sweet light is? It’s the warm golden glow cast by the sun as it begins to set in the evening. It makes everything more perfect, serene and beautiful. It is the absolute most perfect time for taking photos. Unfortunately for me, I rarely have a camera in hand when the best opportunities present themselves. Instead, I keep those images in my heart and in my memory as long as I possibly can.

The first time I heard the term "sweet light" I was walking along a trail with my husband Walt. We had only been dating a short time, but I knew even then we’d grow old together. We were working as whitewater raft guides and both lived in rustic bungalows accessible only by a short trail through the woods. It was the end of a long, hard working and absolutely perfectly adventurous day and I was looking at him in that light. That glow that makes you feel like its a fairytale moment. The streaks of light dancing through the trees and bathing us in the warmth of the sun. I thought how lucky I was to really love someone who loves me as much in return. He started telling me about the sweet light and I thought, it is. It really is.

We were blessed with a beautiful 70 degree day this week. Walt met us at the nature center down the road from our house on his way home from work. I got there a few minutes early with Isabella and the baby, so we found a rocky spot along a creek where the water ran though like a tiny rapid. The soothing sound put the baby to sleep in the sling I wore him in so Izzy and I sat with our pants rolled up and our feet in the water. When daddy showed up he taught Isabella how to throw sticks in the water and watch them run the tiny rapid. That’s how you find the line. The line is how you would run a kayak through the water if it really was a giant rapid on a running river. It’s something he loved to do as a child and it filled Izzy with excitement.

Watching them, my little girl who has those same eyes as her Daddy, learning from him what he has always loved so much. Her knees were wet and muddy. She had dirt and leaves and who knows what else in her hair, her clothes and on her face. She was in that moment everything I wanted her to be. The light turned golden and warm and I watched them play in the water. I watched them laugh and grow and be themselves. I watched the sweet light once again kiss the day goodbye on a moment that I will try to hold onto forever.