Normal Days

Normal day, let me be aware

of the treasure you are.

Let me learn from you, love you,

bless you before you depart.

Let me not pass you by in the 

quest of some rare and

perfect tomorrow. – Mary Jean Iron

A couple of my younger girlfriends are sending their first babies to kindergarten tomorrow.   That will be an extraordinary day for all parties involved.  That will be a day that their families will never forget.

Most days don’t fall into the “extraordinary” category, though.  Most days are not particularly fabulous or extremely awful.  That is why we remember those significant days so well.  Big lessons and big blessings roll in on the rare “stand out” days.  Thankfully, most of our days fall into the category of “ordinary” or “normal.” If they didn’t, I think our nervous systems would be shot!

Sundays tend to be calm, relaxing days for me.  I have learned to treasure the “normal” days.  Drama free, schedule free, go with the flow type days are the cornerstones of our lives.  They equip us with a centering that we can lean on and hold on to, when the unusual days of high highs or low lows, take us on a surprising ride full of twists and turns and surprises.  The “normal” days are a gift that is easy to take for granted.  That’s why I appreciate the poet so much to remind me to treasure what is solid, steady and reliable in my life.  This is not just in my days, but in the dependable people I love and rely on, the stores and services and systems that I never worry won’t be available to me, and in the very air that I effortlessly breathe without thinking about it.

I am grateful for normal days.