It was the end of a long day & I was feeling dismally unproductive.

After juggling too many tasks, nothing seemed to land where it should & I dragged myself to bed feeling defeated.

Before I drifted off, I glanced at the stars to put things into perspective – and to remind myself how vast the universe really is.

And for the first time in nearly a year, what caught my eye wasn’t Venus or Orion’s belt, but the momentary glitters in the darkness that signal summer.

Fireflies.

Or perhaps you know them better as lightning bugs.

Regardless of the name you prefer, it takes only a single spark to transport you to the simplicity of a life that seems so long ago.

When the days were sunny & warm and seemingly endless.

When your most grueling decisions involved peanut butter & jelly or bologna & cheese.

When your idea of the perfect body included light sabers for arms.

When someone had to make you finish your peas & broccoli.

When drinking from the garden hose was your “water bottle.”

When “snap, crackle, pop” referred to your cereal – not your joints.

When getting something in the mail was the best day of your life.

When you believed that you could grow up to be an astronaut, a dancer, or a teacher…or maybe an astronaut who dances & teaches with her light saber arms.

When you had the freedom to be yourself & your only limits were what you could imagine to be true.

In those flickers of light, we are channeled to the long-buried magic of childhood.

And for those brief moments, they ignite the hope that tomorrow is full of promise & possibility.

Interested in learning more about fireflies? Click here for 11 fascinating facts about these amazing little beetles.