The Joy You Almost Missed

A story for summer.
On what you carry when joy feels quieter.

It didn’t look like celebration.
No fireworks.
No crowd.
Just you—
and an evening
that didn’t ask to be noticed.

You could have walked right past it.
The shimmer on the water.
The sound of the wind
trading places with your breath
as you circled the lake again.

You slowed down,
looked up,
and let it find you.

It wasn’t loud.
It wasn’t big.
But it was real.

And that—
that noticing—
is how joy stays.