Anatomy of a Good Day

Since I wrote “Anatomy of a Bad Day” in an earlier post, I thought you should know that today was a very good day. I should first point out, in the interest of full disclosure, that I normally have pretty good days. Of course, since I am being totally honest, you should probably know that I’m easy to please. So much so that if you picture a country bumpkin wearing soft leather boots, leaned up against a fence watching happily as the clouds roll by then you have a pretty good visual of my mental state most days—please note that my mental appearance does not in any way reflect my actual wardrobe. While I don’t have the luxury of watching lazy rotations of nature, I pretty much work through my days with the attitude that some things “just is” (my bumpkin brain speak), and once I get the tough stuff or the time consuming stuff out of the way, then I never feel guilty about relaxing. Although my home would never pass a white glove test because I give myself permission to actually enjoy parts of my day. In the summer this generally involves my vitamin “D” treatments (also known as sunbathing—please don’t send me sunscreen I’m an adult and I’m entitled to one or two self-destructive behaviors.)


But a really good day requires a little more magic from the universe than just a lower-stress work schedule and a bottle of Hawaiian Tropic. First of all, a really good day must include something you got for free. For me, today was that day, and it reminded me how much fun it is to be surprised and delighted by the unexpected. I called the radio station this morning and wasn’t the caller just after the winner—I was actually the winner this time. I now possess tickets to a pop concert for free. I can recall every single concert or sporting event that I attended when I got free tickets, but I can’t remember every event I’ve paid for because free just makes it more fun.

Part two of a good day is when you receive the good news that you were hoping to hear but were secretly bracing for disappointment. Such as an ultra-sound where you learn that your baby will not come out looking like Kermit the Frog, or that your husband finally beat out the office suck-up for the promotion he was working for. It’s an especially joyful release because you’ve been stewing about it for a while, and now you don’t have to think about it anymore. The news is in and it’s good—cue the Hallelujah Chorus. My good news today involved issues with my daughter’s kindergarten class (thought I’d better say something before you thought I was pregnant.)

Finally, a good day has to include some straight up fun. Today, with my absolutely free tickets, I’m going to take my teenage son to his very first concert. This, of course, is my favorite part of today because I get to make a memory—I just hope he’s not embarrassed when I wolf whistle at the band.