Snapshots

There are these moments in life when I find myself sitting in a corner, watching. Watching the world go on all around me in such a beautiful synchronicity that it is quite, well, mesmerizing. Laughter and kindness and all sorts of beautiful interactions surround me and for a moment, I forget any problem I have because nothing else matters more than taking that scene in and savoring every tender morsel of it. My smile gets so big and I just sit there and nod because I know there is goodness all around me.

I call them snapshots. I’ve talked about them before. Brief periods of time that will forever be etched into my heart. I will take them with me and reflect upon them.

This afternoon, I saw the innocence in others. I saw kindness. I saw love and pride in work. I saw laughter. I saw family time and tourists. I watched others interact with tenderness and warmth. Really good snapshots that I will carry with me.

I was downtown in Market Square this afternoon shooting the latest segment for American Dream TV and I felt like it was part of a dream. It was beautiful. People opened their hearts and arms to us. It is hard to even explain. It made me so proud to live in San Antonio. Really. We are so freakin’ lucky to live here. 

A young girl, maybe about 8, came up to me and asked me for my autograph. She said that I was beautiful and that she wanted to be like me. I almost cried. It was probably one of the best compliments that any person could ever get. Certainly the best one that I have had. Sweet innocence and courage in a little girl filled with endless possibilities for her future…and she wants to be like me. Kind of chokes me up right now as I write this. A very special moment. Snapshot.

We went to La Margarita and had, of course, a margarita. We had mariachis sing to us and we got to chat with such beautiful souls who work their butts off there day after day. They were people – real people – who just wanted to make someone else’s day brighter and they did.

I got to meet Blas, who has been doing caricatures in Market Square for 30 years! My, the things that this man has seen over the years. I can only imagine. He drew me the coolest picture and I can’t wait to feature him on the show.

We also went to Mi Tierra Restaurant, which has been open for 80 years! I interviewed Ernesto, one of the managers, and we got to chat about the history of the restaurant while we sat in front of the most beautiful mural. Fittingly enough, it is called The American Dream. This place is the epitome of what can happen with hard work and a dream in our country. A true success story. May God continue to bless them.

I got to have my picture taken with a family from out of town because we loved their shirts. They were telling me how awesome our city was and how much they loved it.

When the interviewing was over, that is when I just sat alone in the corner and watched everything around me. I smiled and nodded my head. There were families laughing. Interacting. Workers hustling. The food smelled so good. This may sound weird, but it kind of gave me more hope in our world than I have been having lately…maybe I should just say “hope in San Antonio!” That might be better. It was like everything was back to normal, if that makes sense.

Thank you God, for the beautiful snapshots and for the thousand miracles that I saw today.

Jen

Check out my Podcast on Amazon, Apple, and Soundcloud – Jen’s 10 G’s