I went for a leisurely walk at Stanford Shopping Center the day after Thanksgiving with my niece Veronica, her husband Willie and their son Stevie. I hadn’t done that since the start of the pandemic, and it felt so good. With the crisp air that vibrated with Christmas music along the hallways, it felt quite festive. With nostalgia, I realized then how I had missed walking the Stanford mall, an occasional pastime that I enjoyed with my husband before he passed.
After a hearty meal of vegetable spring rolls, fried calamari, wonton soup, crispy honeyed shrimps, pepper steak, braised eggplant, sweet and sour shrimps and combination fried rice at PF Chang, walking at the Stanford Shopping Center was the best healthy option, we decided. Stevie lighted up. He hoped to visit Laderach, the candy store that he thought had the best chocolate varieties. Bring me to that store, I chirped. I’m like a kid in Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory when I’m in a candy store. The caveat was, it would take many steps to the parking lot and the shopping center, and with my sciatica — would my crutch and me endure? The kid in me won.
The best movie is watching nature at its best. My son-in-law Matt (my daughter Joy’s husband) shared spectacular photos of sunset on Hermosa Beach, Los Angeles, CA — outstanding images of nature showing off magnificence during the sun’s regular routine of slipping off the horizon for the evening’s rest on our side of the planet. No words are sufficient to describe this sacred grandeur that only God can make. So grateful for this unparalleled art on nature’s canvas.
Enjoy the pictures. Imagine yourself in that setting — and let your heart be filled with awesome wonder at the magnanimity and power of our Creator’s glory, beauty and love. — and be thankful.
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