Today Was A Great Day...

Maybe not in the way you might think. Nothing special happened today. I didn't win a prize or celebrate some milestone. What made today so great was being able to appreciate all the little things. Sometimes it seems that we're so concerned with getting more or achieving that next level of success that we don't stop and notice what we have right now. I know that this concept is nothing new; there's plenty of famous quotes or works of literature that discuss this very notion, but we somehow still forget all of that.

Occasionally I forget how much love and beauty I'm surrounded by in my life. I forget that not everyone is blessed to live by a body of water that shimmers in the sun and constantly varies between numerous shades of blue. I forget that not everyone can go for a walk in the middle of the day under the warmth of the sun, while enjoying the light breeze blowing off the water. I forget that being able to buy coffee and sitting in a bookstore to read for a few hours is a luxury. But today I remembered, and I was able to appreciate how special these gifts are.

When I got home this afternoon the first thing that I wanted to do was go downstairs and play the new vinyl records I purchased over the weekend. So I started up the turntable, put my BBC Recording of The Black Keys on and cranked up the sound. Since we no longer have a working TV in my parent's basement and I didn't just feel like sitting around, I decided to pick up a neglected cue and play a game of pool against myself. I haven't played pool for a few years now and it was pretty obvious by the craptastic shots I was taking. It took me, what seemed to be, 20 shots (I lost count) just to sink one ball, but it didn't matter. After a while I switched out The Black Keys for one of my parent's Tina Turner records and started a full on dance party by myself. As I was jumping around and using the cue as my own personal rock star microphone I realized how little some things have changed in my life. I will never stop singing into the end of the cue or shaking what my mamma gave me when the time is right. Some things you do when you're younger you wouldn't dream of doing today and other things will always stay with you.

Right in the middle of my Turner impersonation I spun around to find my brother standing by the table and laughing at me. Really nothing changes and you better bet I didn't skip a beat. That's when he grabbed his cue and so began the next couple hours of family fun. My dad joined us for a few rounds of Cut Throat after getting home from work, and my mom made a late entrance for her typical role as game observer. It's been harder the last few years to find time to spend together and it was nice being able to laugh and joke with the people I love. We will always be able to bond over pool.

So today was a great day. The same kind of day as many other days, but with a totally different perspective. And sometimes, perspective makes all the difference.

What is your idea of a great day? What kind of things did you do with your family growing up that you can still bond over today?

-S