We spent the day with our granddaughter at Botanica for their annual Bootanica event. A shy 22-month-old, she was slightly overwhelmed by all of the children and activities, but she soon forgot her apprehension when a squirrel darted across our pathway. Oh, and when she spotted the white beach balls painted to resemble eyeballs that were being kicked and volleyed in a grassy area of the gardens.

But, a day spent with our granddaughter is not a little thing. It is big. Huge. Because we will never have this day, this moment with her, again. Soon, she’ll be two, then three, then graduating from high school and there will come a time when spending the day with grandma and grandpa is so not cool.

I was thinking this as I watched my husband navigate her cumbersome stroller through a costumed-sea of children. Suddenly, we spotted butterflies. Hoping to capture a photo of one of the fragile insects, I snapped away at their winged artwork, unable to see if I had a photo worth saving due to the reflection of the sun off the screen of my phone.

On the way home, with our granddaughter slightly snoring in her car seat, I swiped through the days photos and discovered this.

In a blink of an eye, the butterfly was gone, but I have the photo, the memory of the moment. Yes, it was a perfect day, beauty captured if only for what seemed a second in time.