It was a clear mid august evening up in the thumb with a light breeze blowing off the shore of Saginaw Bay, as my sister and I walk down the little dirt beaten path that leads from our cottage to the shoreline. I can feel with each step I take, the gravel and rocks shift beneath my feet and the cool air off the lake blowing in my face. As I glance behind me I notice my sister pause and look upward. “What’s so fascinating up in the sky? There’s nothing much to look at.” I question as she just stares up to the sky. “Just look,” I hear her say as she points up, “It’s just such a pretty sky tonight! Don’t you think?” As I follow her hand with my eyes up to the evening sky I notice all of the different shades and colors that linger in the vast open space. The light shades of purples mix with the darker shades of blue high in the sky where the sun has already set, and the lighter shades of oranges and reds blend together as I tilt my head more toward the setting sun, illuminating the sky around it. “Wow it’s really pretty isn’t it?” I say as I turn my head back toward the path and continue to walk without giving the sky a second thought.    
     After about a minute down the path to the shore, I take my first step onto the cool, salt and pepper colored sand, I can immediately feel the sand squish between my toes and around my feet as I continue to walk on the beach. Out of habit my sister and I turn left heading into the setting sun as we do almost every night. We continue to walk east up the shoreline watching the glowing sun slowly moving down to the horizon line. The water has calmed down to a peaceful lap against the shore while the sky slowly becomes slightly darker with each passing minute.
     My sister and I continue to walk, constantly stopping to inspect where the sun is in the evening sky and just take in the scenery around us. There is tall blade like grass  just before the water meets the sand that has shrunken the beach over many years creating much less space to build sand castles and set up lunch picnics with the family. Dozens of seagulls fly above us and float in the bay like small ships going out to sea. 

     “Can we just wait here until the sun sets?”  I hear my sister say as she begins to sit down “I guess I don't have a say do I?” I say as I take a seat next to her in the sand. 

     “Why do you like sunsets so much?” I ask.  “What’s not to like about them?” “They’re always so different, each night, even though the sun sets every night in the same direction, the sky is always so different. The clouds that are in the sky are never in the same spot or in the same shape. Sometimes they cover almost all of the sun until it hits the horizon, creating a little orange dot in the sky. Sometimes when there are no clouds, the sky just illuminates with so many shades of colors kind of like tonight.” As I see her point around to the sky showing me what I haven't been able to see before. In these moments I begin to realize, I haven’t taken the time to stop and enjoy the little things around me. My sister enjoys every bit of life that happens around her but I’m so caught up in other day to day things that I haven't notice what’s happening around me and I’m missing so much.
     “Each night the sun sets completely different and that's what makes these moments so special” She says still admiring our surroundings.
      As my sister and I sit there and watch the sun slowly disappear under the blanket of water off in the horizon and drift away with the waves, it is in those moments of silence that it clicked. The little moments in life are the most precious and cherishable. I just have never stopped to admire the little things in life and all that surrounds me. I have now learned to just pause and take a step back; the most little and special moments I have experienced are now some of my favorite memories I have. I have become more grateful in my life for what I have and what I am surrounded by every day. I take the time to enjoy the little moments in my life around me when they are happening like watching the sunset every night or cherishing every moment spent with family and friends.