This morning Evan asked me what day it was. I told him it was Friday, and he looked up from his breakfast and said, “It just keeps going around and around.” He’s right. It does. We wake up, have breakfast, get dressed, take on the day, eat dinner, have a bath and go to bed—all to wake up and do it again the next day. Day after day.
It can seem monotonous, even to a three year old. But really it is day by day that we build a life. The seemingly meaningless moments that shape our days really do affect who we are. I think that that is what excites me and scares me the most. It is so easy to squander away a day instead of using it to its fullest. Yet, at the same time, we have a clean slate each day. Fixing dinner, wiping noses and finishing a work project can all take on more meaning when we realize that they are moving us closer to our greater goals.
So, yes Evan, it’s Friday. Friday means ice skating and lunch at the food court. We’ll sit at our table by the fountain. You’ll ask me for pennies and I’ll slowly dole out five that you’ll toss in the water. Madelyn will sit on my lap and watch your every move. You and Madelyn will both fall asleep on our way home and, fingers crossed, stay asleep when I carry you in the house. Later we’ll read books, play cars and fix dinner. I’ll coax you to eat four more bites while Madelyn gobbles up everything in site. You’ll have a bath, we’ll read more books and I’ll lie in bed with you until you fall asleep. I’ll tuck the covers under your chin and sneak out of the room—just so we can wake up tomorrow and do it all again.
But, it isn’t just a Friday—it is a stepping stone.
It is our little routine that is shaping us both into who we’re meant to be. Thinking of our days reminds me of my favorite Ernest Hemingway quote: "There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. They are simple things, and because it takes a man’s life to know them, the little new that each man gets from life is very costly and the only heritage he has to leave."
My biggest hope is that I can find a "little new" in each of my days.
Great post (as always!) Makes me pause with my standard answer when asked “what’s new ?” Thanks.