Yesterday

Yesterday was cold but sunny so I stopped for a walk on my way home after work. Truth be told, I was ill prepared for the elements in my dress pants and coat but I strapped on my walking shoes and braved the cold wind anyway. My feet hurt, I was tired and hungry but it felt amazing to stretch my limbs and move.

Aside from a few teenagers starting their spring training and some folks driving by, I had the lake to myself.

I have learned many times over that we may wait forever if we wait for conditions to be ideal. If something is important you have to go after it even when things aren’t perfect.

Perfection is overrated anyway

The sun was setting when I arrived home and it was becoming colder by the minute. However, the light grew golden and enchanting, enticing me back out into the cold for one last picture of the day.

Isn’t it beautiful? Happy Tuesday, friends. Go do the thing that will make you happy- even if conditions aren’t perfect. There will never be a time better than today.

A Good Day

Gallipolis in Lights, 2021.

A person stocking shelves in the grocery store recently asked me how I was doing. When I said I was doing well she remarked how nice it is to talk to someone having a good day.

My response to that was you can either have a good day or a bad one and a bad day isn’t fun at all. A nearby shopper chimed in that there is always something to be grateful for and a reason to smile.

It’s sometimes difficult to remember these lessons and life often throws us circumstances that make it hard to practice what I preach.

At least we can try.

The weatherman is calling for rain today and I’m using that as an excuse to stay in and rest. Later today I’ll bake cookies and have a Christmas movie marathon with my parents. We will eat too many cookies and watch movies we’ve seen thirty times but it’s exactly the kind of day I need.

Whatever you do, wherever you are, I hope you’ll try to have a good one. Remember, it’s a good day to have a good day.

Monday Pep Talk

Good morning! It’s Monday. Let’s attack this day like a giant gorilla on the side of the King Kone in Cassadaga, New York.

If you hit snooze on Monday morning you’re setting a tone of procrastination for the day and the entire rest of the week. If you hop up and get your day started, you’ll find you have a much better experience.

And in case you aren’t sure, this is the pep talk I need to read this morning. Hopefully it helps you too!

Car Dancing In The Rearview Mirror

My hometown is so small it has a single traffic light. Actually, that traffic light is the only one in our entire county.

While we are rural, there are certain times of day that traffic can be bad. So if you’re sitting at a two way stop attempting to turn left onto Main Street when school just let out, you could be waiting awhile.

One day last week I was waiting impatiently for my turn to go when I noticed the driver of the car behind me.

She was happily car dancing, singing and drumming the steering wheel. She appeared to not have a single care in the world.

I suddenly felt silly for being so impatient and it was a light moment, a reminder that we can enjoy the small things even when we are trying to get someplace else.

A few miles down the road, I was sitting at another stop sign, this one on a less traveled country road. Remembering the young Dancing Queen from that other intersection, I paused to enjoy this scene and to breathe the fresh Ohio air.

It required under a minute but those few seconds of beauty were like a much needed balm for the soul.

Be A Beginner

When you close your eyes at night, know that you did your best with that day and be done with it.

Rest easy and wake up willing to be a beginner the next morning. It’s a new day, a fresh start.

Honor it as such.

And as Tabitha Brown says “Have a good day but if you can’t, don’t you dare go messing up no one else’s.”