photo of me, taken by my husband

we took a trip to see the wildflowers on the carrizo plains a couple of days ago. in short, it was probably our lowest moment as a road-tripping family. it was shameful. there was whining, yelling, short-tempers and agitation. and it wasn't just the kids. we even had to pull over to "talk". we tried really hard to make the best of it, sort of, but none of us were able to rally our best selves. we were disappointed. it wasn't what we expected. we wanted lush, this was desert. we wanted to frolic in purples and oranges, but there was only yellow. what a lesson in how expectation and emotion can overshadow the perception of what is right in front of us. because now, as i look back at this photo, in hindsight, what i see is breathtakingly beautiful.