Last night I woke up at 3 am to what I thought was the sound of someone walking up our stairs. I looked over to my side and saw my husband Tim and baby girl Lily sleeping soundly at my side. Usually, Tim will stay up later than I do, so I thought it might have been him walking up the stairs. But evidently so, this was not the case. 

I went down and looked around. The thought of it maybe being a burglar crossed my mind and thoughts of what I might do if someone actually was there. Ask if I could help the person? Find some sort of weapon? I hope I don’t have to ever find the answer to that question, I thought to myself. I gazed out the window and saw a shape. I got startled, my heart rate noticeably increased. In my sleepiness, the shape outside didn’t really make sense, so I went closer. 

It was just our honeysuckle that grows over our porch. My shoulders relaxed. Heart rate back to normal. Phew. 

Then it struck me, like many times before: life is a mystery. Your default behaviors and reactions to things in your life are mostly habits. To get scared of your honeysuckle is also a possible reaction and that was a great reminder. Never forget that everything really is a mystery and we know so little. Never forget that this exists too. 

Originally posted on the 7th of August 2022.