Day 2140 Good Day

 

A pretty little bouquet in my bathroom looks as if it were made for the space. I love 1970s retro art and will always welcome a happy morning message. I face each day as if it will be a good one, and thankfully, I’m usually right.

My old friend Libby used to say I could step in poop (she used a different word) and come out smelling like roses, but I don’t think that’s quite true. I think it’s all in how we handle mishaps. Life throws obstacles at us throughout each day, but all in all, it’s usually pretty darn good.

I had a super-early start with a 4 a.m. wake-up for no good reason,  but instead of cursing the hour, I embraced the peacefulness and felt like I’d discovered a little hack for gaining more hours in the day. Truth be told, I wasn’t overly productive, but I still got more done during those wee hours than most, so I’m not complaining. Funny enough, I waited until fifteen minutes before I had to leave the house to jump in the shower and get ready, yet somehow still pulled myself together and made it out the door on time.

Later in the day, Tim reported that he had a face-to-face encounter with the cat. A sighting is something...and we'll take what we can get. We went to dinner at the bowling alley, where we sat chatting about this and that. I asked him if he knew how close Venezuela is to Aruba, and with the help of Google, we discovered it’s only about 15 miles away, almost as close as Block Island is to us. 

I’ve never visited Aruba and haven’t really wanted to, ever since poor Natalie Holloway went missing in 2005 and the way her family was treated by the government. I have been to Venezuela, back in the late ’90s. My son was competing in karate tournaments and working toward a world title, and the tournament he needed to attend was held there. Maybe I was crazy, but I traveled with him and his friend, both minors, and confidently entered the country as carefree as Mr. Magoo.

I was advised to stay within the hotel complex, but one day we decided to explore a small nearby village. I arranged a cab from the hotel and paid the driver an extra $20 to wait for us while we shopped, knowing that most trouble starts with getting into unfamiliar cabs. My son bought his sister a blowgun and picked up a few souvenirs for his brother, and then we safely returned to the hotel. It was a wonderful tournament weekend, and my son secured the world title in his fighting division....now that was a good day! Someday I may even go up into my attic and drag out all his trophies...not a chance he'll want them but I've saved them all the same. 

Venezuela remains the most beautiful country I’ve ever visited, mountainous terrain straight out of Jurassic Park, breathtaking and largely unexplored. I doubt I’ll ever have the opportunity to return and am happy we had the experience. Now that I realize how close Aruba is, I might be open to visiting there someday… but I’m still mad about Natalie. She was the same age as my daughter, and I felt her mother’s pain through the television...and still do.

Sorry for my scattered thoughts. I woke up with a flurry of memories, reflections, and possibilities swirling around, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a really good day. Fresh flowers and happy messages in the early morning darkness... with all of life's possibilities in front of me... isn't life grand? 

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson