31 Days in which I Am Saved by Beauty

31 Days in which I Am Saved by Beauty – Day 19

October 20, 2012 By Diana

Today we got frustrated,

and disappointed,

and enraptured —

all at the same time.

We drove across town to the Old Mission.

Our assignment?

Get fingerprinted,

so that a background check could be run,

so that we could serve as volunteers

at our soon-to-be-seven-year-old

granddaughter’s school.

Our daughter-in-law carefully

researched the date,

wrote us some instructions

and said in passing,

“It says to call ahead and make

a reservation,

but we just walked up and got

in line. You probably don’t need to.”

Wrong.

So we’ll wait til next time.

But when I turned around from the office

complex, I realized that the early morning

cloud cover had burned completely off,

and we had a lovely shot of one of

the most beautiful buildings in our state,

the Queen of the Missions.

I didn’t have much time,
as my husband was peeved and restless,
but I aimed my camera and rattled
off a few shots, wondering
what I might have captured
in the three minutes I grabbed.

Someday, I will post some interior shots on this blog,
but today, I was fortunate to get these angled exteriors.
To tell you the truth, everything
about this site is lovely.
Standing on those front steps,
you can see all the way to the ocean.
And you can imagine Father Serra
surveying this beauty and sighing,
as he traveled the Camino Real up and down
the coast of Alta California.

These bells actually ring,
reminding parishioners to pray,
calling them to mass,
inviting people to stop,
for just a moment or two,
and remember that being busy
is not all there is to this life.