"It's Been a Good Day"

My eyelids were getting heavy as I sat, knitting in my rocking chair.  Knitting cotton dishcloths is something I’ve begun doing recently.  Instant gratification, they are easily finished in a short period of time, without much thought involved.  My mother taught me to knit as a little girl.  The first projects were cotton dishcloths, so in a sense I've gone back to where I began.

The only sounds were of the dryer and a soft whir of the heat pump, an occasional car driving by outside.  An attempt to call a niece had resulted in a message left on the answering machine so it was just me and the knitting.  Thoughts of my day rambled through my mind with no real connection or order.   

Earlier, coming into the house at the end of a workday, I heard myself say, “It’s been a good day.”  And now, as I knitted and rocked, I considered my day and the events of it. 

My day began by spending time at the piano, preparing for a recital.  I expect to play a composition titled Creation Sings, the work of a family member.  The music fills my being, and I had recorded it on my phone, listening to its beauty throughout the day.

On the way to a work project I had picked up a prescription for a client/friend.  As I stopped it by her home, we chatted and laughed.  She is an older person in years, yet young in spirit.  I like her a lot, and it is always a treat to be around her. 

Often when I make that assessment of a "good day," it pertains to the amount of work I have accomplished.  And on that one level, today was no different.  The home of one of my first clients in the area is being prepared for market.  The yard and garden needs to be made sale-ready, and so a chunk of the day was spent making that happen. Great progress had taken place as bags and bags of weeds and debris were removed, revealing rockwork and hidden flowering plants. 

A young man had been called in to help with the project.  It was hands-and-knees kind of work and conversation came easily.  The subject of God came up early in the day:  "It is my belief....; what do you think?  If I am to understand you....; I disagree with you on that point."   Ideas, thoughts, and beliefs were readily and easily exchanged.  In some areas our points of view are quite dissimilar and yet we shared and laughed, getting to know one another as people.

As we went our separate ways at the end of the workday I thanked him and told him how much I had appreciated our time in the garden.  "It is so nice meeting someone who is opinionated in their beliefs and convictions and yet open to listen," I was told.  "What is the opposite of that?" I asked.  "Obstinate," he said.

The day came to a close with a text from a grandgirl:  "When are you going to be home, Grandma?"  She wanted to talk on the phone, and we did.  Being told you are loved by a grandgirl makes any day a "good day."  Contact with two out-of-state friends and daughters only added to that appraisal. 

My days aren't  filled with extraordinary events.   "Exciting" is not a word one would apply to my life, and at this time of the year the days are usually filled with work and more work.  My life, however, is rich, filled with gifts of music, interactions with family and friends, laughter, and the knowledge that my day is planned and ordered.  This is not the first time I’ve told my Father “It has been a good day,” and I doubt it will be the last.

Life is good.

“This is the day that the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."