Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The Perfect Days

Wow! It has been awhile since I have posted! I guess we all know how busy life can get. I have had several ideas for posts, but sitting down to focus just has not happened--until now.

I don't know about you, but for me, most days are okay. Some are better than others. If I graphed my days with a line, there would be a line with very little variation, with an occasional high and occasional low. There are times when the lows seem to dominate, and there are times when where the line would be higher for days at a time. However, for the most part, the line would be pretty steady.

Sunday was one of those very good days, near perfect even, a definite high point on my graph. The day started with church with my family. Then we had lunch. Following lunch we had a day of Christmas decorating traditions. We picked out our new ornaments and got our tree. All the boxes came down from the attic with all the Christmas stuff. Our traditional Christmas decorating music, Kenny and Dolly's Christmas album, played on the record player--yes, you read that correctly, record player. Everyone was chipping in and involved in the process.

Once the tree and inside of the house were decorated, we went to our favorite restaurant for dinner. When we got home, we finished the night by watching Polar Express and having hot chocolate and smores.

I should probably clarify that my youngest child is 10. I have sons who are 15 and 19. Gone are the days when they didn't have options for their Sunday afternoon and evening. In fact, I knew I was going to have all of them through the decorating, but I knew my oldest child had made plans for the evening, prior to our dinner and Polar Express plans. Here is another reason it was such a special day--he canceled those plans--his choice. We were all there willingly, and we were all enjoying one another. Even my 24-year-old stepson joined us for part of the day.

I have to admit that I was overcome with emotion several times that day. We do things as a family pretty regularly, but to be all together all day with each and every one of us involved and engaged does not happen often these days. Schedules are crazy between work, school, church, and extracurricular activities. I was very thankful all day.

Later during the night, once the movie was over, I walked into the kitchen. I asked a question in a silent prayer, "Why can't every day be like this day?"
Suddenly, the answer was crystal clear. If I had Sunday every day, what would make it special? If I had Sunday every day, would I have stopped to observe, to soak in the moments? If I had Sunday every day, would I have even recognized the significance of the day? If I had Sunday every day, would I have stopped to be thankful, so very thankful?

I am sure the answer to each of those questions would be no.

Does this mean that the next time I have a bad day that I will immediately think about the good days and feel better? Nope. Probably not. But maybe, just maybe, I will remember to give thanks more often. And one thing is for sure, I will look forward to the almost perfect days, knowing that there is one somewhere around the corner.