It seems like a lot of us are counting out the days. I’ve seen friends post about it being Day 1 or Day 2 of their kids being home from school or of quarantine. It got me thinking about one of my favorite apps, Day 1. It’s a journaling app that is very simple and lets you document your day with a photo and a journal. While I like it because it is simple and has a beautiful interface, the name is what really draws me to it. You see I’m not always as disciplined as I would like and I don’t always journal. When I pick it up again I often feel guilty for letting it go for too long. But something about calling this journal, Day 1 resonates with me. It reminds me that every day is day 1. Each day is a new opportunity to embrace what we have been given and to make the best of it. It’s chance to put the mistakes of yesterday behind me and move forward with today.
I’ve decided not to count down time right now but to embrace each day as day 1 whatever that day might mean. Today that meant changing a few things in our routine. Usually everyone gets up and takes care of themselves, rushes through breakfast and rushes out the door to work and school. Then I spend the next hour doing the barn chores, walking the dog, cleaning up breakfast dishes and figuring out what’s for dinner so I can pick up groceries or thaw out food. Today, I woke my children with a song I haven’t sung in a while but is deeply ingrained in my head. My mom would sing it to us in the morning as she opened her curtains. I will admit, my kids reaction to it was much the same as mine was too my mom. But I did it anyway. Good morning God, this is your day. I am your child, show me your way.
They grumbled their way with me to the barn and helped me do morning chores. My usual 40 minute quiet time was over in 10 minutes and filled with grunts and moans. But, it’s only day 1. Perhaps tomorrow’s day one will be greeted with a little more cheer. Chores finished with a walk with the dog. Now we are all off in our own little corners doing our work for the day. We plan to eat lunch together and take a few breaks to enjoy the sunshine. There’s so much of this I want to be over. The fear and uncertainty that is gripping so many. The loss of life. The economic and emotional toll this is taking on so many. And yet, in the midst of all of that there is hope. Hope that we will all appreciate this day just a little bit more. That we will embrace it and give it all we’ve got. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But we do know what we have today. Make today Day 1.
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