My family spent this afternoon on the forest floor watching the solar eclipse. After a week of ups-and-downs at the restaurant, I was grateful for the calm from the woods and the reminder from the universe that we’re just tiny little things on a ball in space.

Between the eclipse and a few other major anniversaries this week, I’ve been feeling more reflective than usual. I miss my dad something fierce. You’d think as a grown-up woman with kids, the intensity of missing him would pass.  But it hasn’t.  Yesterday was his birthday, and I spent the day with wet eyes and heavy heart.  I’d give anything to see him again.  His ashes are scattered in the forest, and after spending the day in it, it’s no wonder he’s weighing on my heart.

Reader, something about watching the moon pass before the sun today acted as another reminder that life is just so damn short.  If there’s a grudge you’re holding, let it go.  If you’re withholding love for any reason—stop it.  I wish today that I would’ve spent more time with my dad, learning how to love him instead of focusing on how different we were.  Because no matter how many songs I write about him, I still can’t get back those wasted years.

Let’s love big and forgive quick this week.  Keep taking it all in, and I’ll see you next Monday. -Em