The Best Day
“Today,” Daniel announced this morning, “is the best day of the week. Because I don’t have to be anywhere, or do anything or go to school.”
“Except,” I called down the stairs from where I was crouched, sorting through dirty laundry, “except ballet today.”
“Oh,” said Daniel. “Then maybe tomorrow is the best day of the week.”
“Meeting,” grunted Ed.
“So WHAT IS the best day of the week then,” Daniel howled.
He and Helena started dissecting each day, trying to work out which day had the most they liked and the least they didn’t.
“How about,” I said somewhat grumpily, looking for coffee, “how about every day is the best day.”
“Yay!” crowed Helena.
“No way,” said Daniel.
Thing is, I’m somewhere between the two reactions. No, that sounds too balanced. I am both reactions at once. At the same time I believe that every day is the best day — because it is the ONLY day, I also believe that idea is fatuous word-play and that some days are basically better than others.
The inner struggle endures, although consciously I pull more towards the first. There really is no way to live if every day is not the best day. I was on the phone with my sister last night who had had a rare good day with her step-daughter and how wonderful that was. And how she felt bad that so many days in the past had not been good.
But the only way to parent and stay sane is to always move forward from today, I said. And I believe this utterly. To look back at all time times I took the easy way out, the lazy way. At the times I lost my temper with such insane panache that I gave Mommie Dearest a run for her money. At the times I simply couldn’t — or didn’t — offer what is best in me, but only the minimum to get through that moment. That way despair lies.
Every good day is a beacon of hope that such days exist, every bad a chance to do better. We walk forward into new, blank pages of days on which we can write a fresh story. I know no other way to live but to walk forward into each day, because today is the only day. So it’s the best day.
year’s ago, when The Smashing Pumpkins’ song “Today” becames a huge hit, a friend of mine told me he thought Billy Corgin was singing “Today is the greatest day available.” Which pretty much says it all. And it is true. Today IS the greatest day available, when you thing about it.
word!
Love the new header image and tag line. Someday I’ll get back to “today is the best day” … one day when the pain of loss has dulled to an intermittent ache.
One has to be so disciplined to just be in the now but the rewards are tremendous.
Thanks for the very eloquent reminder.
Oh boy, SM, what a lovely, TRUE, powerful post. I have to keep reminding myself of that every ding-dang day.
Thank you. @:-)