A Good Day

Just wanted to take a moment to appreciate what wound up being, all told, a pretty good day. It happened on Thursday, the 5th. 

There was nothing truly spectacular or earth-shaking or anything. So I do not want to make it out to seem like it was "the best day ever," or "epic" or any of the other overstatements that seem to rule our vernacular these days.  

No, nothing like that. But it was just a solid day, when I surprised myself a bit with how well it went, and how much was fit into just one day.  

It began with completing an overnight work from home shift, which was pleasant. And I got one-third of my end of our monthly projects/responsibilities/checks done. That felt good. It was the third straight night at home, with one outright night off sandwiched between two work from home shifts, as my new work schedule began this month of May. Still getting used to it, but the spike in work from home days is welcome, at least thus far. 

My girlfriend and I spent a bit of time together before she left for work, and then I slept for a bit. Not much, however, because I just could not sleep much. Perhaps a couple of hours, at most. But once I got up, a lot got done. First, I shaved my head and trimmed my beard (instead of giving myself a more complete shave around the goatee, all while listening to an audiobook. It had been just shy of two weeks since the last time that I had shaved my head, which meant that it was seriously overdue. I was worried that, as a result of this, it might be rougher than usual. Instead, it went smoothly, painlessly. And quickly. All of which were pleasant surprises. 

Once done, I decided to take advantage of what felt like an absolutely perfect day in terms of weather. I walked, just around the neighborhood. Did my usual loop, my normal route, which is roughly two and a half miles. It kept my streak of walking every day this week intact, which helps me feel like I am getting back into shape a bit. This is usually a great time of the year to try and do that, of course. But I seem to have injured my knee, either spraining it or hyperextending it, and have been trying to take it easy a bit on the walking and putting some pressure on it. But in recent days, it feels like maybe it is ready for me to take regular walks again. That is what I have been trying to do this week, and hope to do from here on out. It felt good, painless, and plus, it allowed me to enjoy a truly beautiful – hell, perfect – spring afternoon.  

Next, I went to my local library - which is a fantastic library - and did something that was frankly long overdue. Yes, I renewed my membership, which had lapsed well over a year ago (almost a year and a half, actually). Perused the library – which again, really is a fantastic library for a suburban town – and wound up picking up some good books, to boot. Hopefully, you guys can read my reviews of them here in the near future. 

Then, went to the grocery store and did a small bit of shopping. Some stuff for my girlfriend, and some for me. This is not something I normally am disciplined enough to do or remember, so this was a little victory of sorts. I then rewarded myself with a few tacos from the local Taco Bell, a rare treat to enjoy on Cinqo de Mayo. Why not? 

Went home and cleaned up the place a bit, which also is something that I am not always disciplined enough to do as often as I should. 

Then, I lay down on the couch and read a bit more. Slept in the afternoon, and more or less caught up on the sleep that was missed out on earlier.  

Finally, woke up early, and under my own power instead of the alarm, and got everything ready that needed to get ready. Ate dinner, and before getting ready for work (again, the overnight shift), got a little bit of writing done. In fact, this is part of it. 

Again, nothing truly spectacular or earth-shattering or anything. Just a good, solid day, one that made me feel good.  But as I get older, I have learned to appreciate these small things. And so in that spirit, it seemed worth sharing here.