I had planned on writing about heroes I’ve met or heard about or seen this week. Because today is Saturday and Saturday is my day to celebrate heroes in our midst.

And there are lots. Like the father who stopped to let his little girl watch a worm crawl across the sidewalk in the rain, or the young man who gave a woman his seat on the train in from the airport, and the cashier who threw in the final 33 cents for a coffee for the man who was short of change.

And there was the police man giving directions to a couple whose English was as scant as his of theirs (something Slavic I think but I didn’t know what). He patiently traced their route on a google map on their phone as I stood beside them waiting for a light to change. They smiled and nodded their heads and he smiled and nodded his and spoke in a loud voice, slowly articulating each syllable of the words he spoke that they could not understand. Didn’t matter. They were all happy to be connected.

There was also the young girl who stopped to help a man with a walker navigate a sidewalk after she’d helped him pick up some oranges that had fallen out of his basket. And a balcony festooned with balloons and banners wishing someone a Happy Birthday. I laughed when I saw all the balloons blowing above and hoped they were the biodegradable kind — but then, this is Vancouver where environmental awareness is second place only to how their beloved Canucks are doing in the shortened hockey season. (Last I heard there was a lot of noise about bad plays and worse goal-keeping — but that’s the lot of hockey fanatics. Their team is only as good as their last win.)

But I’m not going to write of those everyday heroes — they are all around you though so don’t forget to watch for them, to see them and to celebrate their brilliance. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to celebrate the hero in you! Because, no matter how you look at it, the hero in you is dancing around, opening doors for strangers, wiping up spilt milk and taking out the garbage.

The heroes I want to write about this morning though are my daughters. Two incredible young women who have never ceased to amaze me and awe me with their hearts and beautiful spirits shining.

Once upon a time I promised to love my daughters with all my heart, and then I fell. My heart broke and I lay shattered upon the ground. It was my daughters’ love that brought me back to life. My daughters’ forgiveness that lead me back into the light.

I am blessed. So incredibly blessed. And grateful. And humbled.

By love’s majesty. By love’s capacity to heal in the broken places and lead us back to the hearts and hearths where we belong.

Once upon a time, I disappeared without a word from my daughters’ lives. It was a man. Albeit a ‘bad man’, but I disappeared none-the-less, without a word, a note, a sign that I’d be back.

Four months later, I was given the miracle of my life when he was arrested and I was set free.

Almost ten years later, I continue to live and cherish the miracle of my life today. The love and joy, the gratitude and abundance for all that I have, I am and know in this world today.

I am celebrating my daughters today. No, it’s not “Happy Daughters Day” or even their birthday, (though the youngest turns 25 in less than 2 weeks). Nope. I’m celebrating my daughters today because…. I can. I am here. Alive and loving. Alive and feeling. Alive and knowing, I am so blessed.

And because…. I read my daughter, Alexis’ blog todayAlexi’s blog today, and my heart broke open again. Just as it breaks open every day immersed in the love that we share.

I am celebrating my daughters today.

Why not celebrate the one’s you love today, just because you can. Just because you’re here and living and they are the gift that expands in love everyday.