A Good Day, Any Which Way You Look at It

Yesterday was one of those idyllic days that felt good from every angle.

A quiet anticipation and appreciation of what the day could hold. An eagerness to set out on the road and live the day (more often than not, I go through a phase where I just want to stay home where it is safe and known-to-me). A pure and utter enjoyment of the moment I was in. All day. And a blissful replay of the day as I drove home.

I met up with four of my dad's brothers for the afternoon and I made a quick stop to see my mom's sister en route to my afternoon destination.

I called my aunt to see if she was up to company and see what time would work best. It sounded like a brief visit after lunch worked best for her and the timing was perfect for my afternoon plans. So that is what we did.

We had an easy, most enjoyable visit. When I spoke to her on the phone, it sounded like she was not really up to company for too terribly long. I thought I'd stay fifteen or twenty minutes. I stayed twice as long as I anticipated and I was sorry to see our time pass so quickly.

I arrived at my uncle's home and two of my cousins were there, which was an unexpected surprise. It was fun to catch up with them and one of my cousins stayed on as we started our last information gathering session in an attempt to plump up their personal chapters within their family's collection of memories.

It was a different dynamic between the uncles this time (one uncle was missing; another filled his spot), as compared to the first. It makes a person appreciate what each individual 'brings to the table' when the flow changes. Our conversation drifted off from time to time. We talked of family dynamics and many little things which will not make it to The Book. There is an underlying story to everyone's memories and sometimes it helps to reveal that-which-will-not-be-written.

We went out for supper afterwards - a steak dinner fundraiser which was a most excellent way to wrap up the afternoon.

When I sit back and think about it, the day was quietly unremarkable. But remarkably memorable. Sitting down at a table and collecting memories is a most excellent and rewarding  pass time. One of my cousins remarked at all of the work that had gone into this book thus far and compared it to a needlework picture that took her years to create. She said, "Never again!"; I smiled and thought, "If I could do this and nothing else, I would gladly do it again".

I couldn't help but think of a comment my son made many, many years ago after eating an incredibly tast chicken nugget from a favorite restaurant. He was thrilled when he burped and got to savor the flavor of that nugget after it was long gone. Yesterday was exactly like that for me. I loved every moment of the 'aftertaste' that I savored during my one and a half hour drive home.

It was simply a day that was as enjoyable living forward, as it was looking at it in my rear view mirror.