Maybe it was after my first kid, or between numbers 2 and 3

I didn’t watch the stars disappear, in my life they just stopped to be.

And then one Monday night as I ran in to the backyard,

There they all were waiting for me, shining so brightly, not making me work for their beauty very hard.

For the first time in too long, the stars above me shone.

Lighting up the entire sky, helping me to feel safe, and at home.

Then I began to wonder why I hadn’t seen them in years.

If the stars were always shining, why have I never met them here?

Maybe I was too busy, too caught up in raising kids, or too stressed.

If the stars were always shining how had I not seen them at their best?

For a moment I felt sad, like I had let me life pass me by

For too long my eyes didn’t witness the glimmer, the wonder, the sparkle that lights each evening sky.

And all this time, the stars they waited for me to be present enough to watch them glow.

How I missed them for this many years, I will truly never know.

The stars they waited and shone brightly just as they do every night.

Wondering if this was the day I could appreciate them, if this was the night I could get it right.

And busy I stayed, and tired I got as each night come abound.

And yet the stars still lingered, waiting for my eyes to come around.

It’s funny when you realize you’ve been missing something in plain sight.

Especially when it’s something so expansive, so important, and oh so bright.

And when I asked the stars why they waited for me, so patiently, for all this time

They simply glistened and smiled upon me, letting me know this doing was all mine.

I loved the stars and sky, but yet had still managed to become

An adult too self-important to take time to soak in the stars and sun.

I allowed life to lead me and create all the paths I would see

I forgot in all the doing that taking time to pause is instead where I should be.

I thanked the stars for their patience with me and promised to embrace this new tide

I assured the stars that anytime I needed to breathe and witness the world, I would just go outside

I have spent too many years allowing the world to run behind the scenes and it’s greatness just pileup

Now, I know for certain that in order to see the stars, all I ever have to do is look up.

Because the stars are always shining, and my life will continue to move

It’s up to me to take time to reflect upon the stars, and really set the mood.

The doing of life doesn’t matter when you make each day to day so blinding.

It’s hard to ignore something so expansive, like the stars, which shine in plain hiding.

So take with you this lesson of mine, it’s really not hard work

You will always see what you want to see it just depends on where you look.

The stars are always shining, it’s up to you to fill your cup.

The stars are here to embrace your life, all you have to do is just look up.