Best Day Ever

Today was an absolutely and positively great day. I was excited to be interviewed on UCB Radio about my book Magic Kisses which was definitely out of the ordinary, yet despite that, my day was quite routine. I exercised, visited with my family, worked on my home business, made meals, spent time relaxing around the pool and did some house cleaning. Not a day that stands out per se,  but still a great day none the less. I am realising that truly any day that I can be here to make an impact, love others, be loved by others and enjoy God's great creation is truly the best day ever.

There is something to be said of finding pleasure and being grateful for even our most ordinary of days. I had a little girl in my class once who no matter what we did whether exciting or routine, was always known to say "This is the best day ever!" It would always warm my heart as some days seemed rather uneventful, yet in her grateful opinion, there was always something magical to appreciate. I would frequently smile and think I want to be more like her about my approach to life, because despite her young age, she clearly got it.

We recently vacationed in Ottawa, our nation's capital. The sights and beautiful scenery were truly something to behold. This year we did a lot of walking to the sights, packed a lot of our own food and enjoyed many picnics along the breathtaking scenic views. It was a more simplistic vacation in some respects, yet an extremely enjoyable one. What I find was the most enjoyable was the rare treat of the four of us on vacation together. As the kids get older, it seems getting the four of us together at once is increasingly more difficult. As Shannon and I visited around the pool today, I commented to her that as she gets older, we will have less and less moments like this, and how I for one am going to enjoy every minute of our time together.

Our washing machine has been on the blitz this week so off I went to my mom's to take care of our mountain of laundry yesterday. As we camped out around the washer and dryer, we enjoyed catching up, laughing and sharing memories about our recent vacation with her. A silly annoyance of a washing machine malfunction allowed a special opportunity for a great visit. Trust me I visit my mom often and certainly don't need any dirty laundry to do so, but what I am trying to say is what a great, ordinary day it was.

Ordinary moments in ordinary days are happening all around us. The thing is though, we often take many of them for granted. Karen Kingsbury wrote a very powerful children's book called Let Me Hold You Longer. The touching and emotional book tugs at the heartstrings of every parent as it talks about how we celebrate the "firsts" in our kids' lives, but what about the "lasts?" The problem is we never know when we will get the last goodnight kiss, or the last cuddle with bedtime stories, or the last card saying we are the best mom ever. We just don't know, so we need to savour every one while we can get them.

We ran into a sweet, young mom in Ottawa. She was in the thick of potty training and although she was handling it with grace and class, it was evident she was a bit frustrated. She said to me with a sparkle in her voice "Remember this LOVELY stage ladies?" I replied "I certainly do and believe it or not, you're going to miss this someday." She smiled and said "You're right. That's what they tell me."

The Bible says: This is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. It refers to every day not just the spectacular ones, but the ordinary ones too. Every day is a gift that we need to celebrate. Some days are clearly more exciting than others, yet finding the gratitude and blessing in even the most ordinary, simple day will really carry you far.

Until next time,
~ Dana

Little Lessons Learned: Every day is amazing if you view it as such. Consider that.

Psalms 118:24 ~This is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Copyright: littelessonslearnedbydana, 2016