dadgum good

Date August 20, 2008

Yesterday started out as a sort of bummer.

I got home, took out my running shoes, laced them up and met some friends for a jog. We ended up on the track below my house. And I think my insides jumped a little.

Ten years and thirty pounds ago I was really fast. That’s not so much the case anymore, but it felt nice to run some 800s again and then some 400s and finally some 200s and just open up my stride. My breathing was heavy but rhythmic and when the workout was finished we were all spent.

I pulled out some change and bought us a bag of water from the lady that has the roadside stand. We sipped and walked up the hill talking about pace, speed workouts, and how lactic acid affects the aged. And I liked it.

I’d shrugged the biggest part of the funk. In fact, I’d left it out on the track. I deserved a reward. Seriously.

Good thing that the grocery store had real, live Kraft macaroni and cheese, spirals no less, on sale for 13.000 pesos (about 6 dollars). So, I bought that little blue box without a shred of guilt and then proceeded to eat it. All. By myself. Thank you. Thankyouverymuch. And then I had dessert.

I talked to my favorite camper of all time on the phone. I talked to an old friend and we laughed a lot. I took a shower in which the hot water stopped running only four times. I shaved my legs. I didn’t brush my hair. I climbed in a bed with clean sheets with smooth legs in an apartment on the main street of one of the coolest towns in Colombia. I read one hundred pages in my book. I turned on my fan, tucked myself in, and slept without dreaming.

I woke up to sunshine and had fresh blackberry juice with my breakfast. The bus was on time. I didn’t feel like hurling on the ride to school. My students had smiles on their faces. I had a note on my board. “Good morning, Miss!” And there was a Tootsie Roll in my mailbox. A TOOTSIE ROLL!

Life’s dadgum good today. And yesterday? I hardly remember the funkiness of it at all.

Now, tell me why today is good for you. I want to hear it.

Category Posted in colombia, rambling

7 Responses to “dadgum good”

  1. Trava said:

    August 21st, 2008 at 3:53 am

    A friend called me today and made me laugh, hard! I’ve been listening to a book by Nicholas Sparks called “Three Weeks with My Brother”. It is pretty good. Simple things always makes for a good day! Hoorah for books and tootsie rolls.

  2. Summer said:

    August 21st, 2008 at 5:17 am

    I took a precious afternoon nap in a clean house knowing there was nothing that I really had to get up to do! Glad today was better for you. In my opinion, tootsie rolls, or anything having to do with chocolate really, have the power to brighten a day.

  3. sonny said:

    August 21st, 2008 at 9:09 am

    you are my role model. just to let ya know. i envy your “dadgum good” day oh so much.

  4. Lindsay Nash said:

    August 21st, 2008 at 4:27 pm

    Because Whit’s coming home in an hour with fresh pizza and we’re going to celebrate one last night in our apartment we called home in a year before we move across the street tomorrow.

  5. Deanna said:

    August 21st, 2008 at 8:10 pm

    Today is going to be a good day because I woke up on my own (without the help of an alarm clock), my son cooperating for the most part, I wasn’t in a rush, and we made it to daycare/work on time. The rest of the day should be a breeze!

    Hope you have another great day Emily!

  6. Lou said:

    August 21st, 2008 at 8:50 pm

    Your much improved day lets me know (as if I doubted it) that God really does hear us.

    To day is a good day because of alot of little things that I so often take for granted…. woke feeling good – healthy; it is raining but only 80 something degrees and it is August in Mississippi – that ain’t normal as you well know; I picked up my sweet boy out of the bed and his precious sweet body laid over on my shoulder has I took him out the car and whispered a prayer thanking God for such a blessing in my life….I could go on and not stop. God is so good!

    Love Ya and Have a Great day….from now on.

  7. Dani said:

    August 21st, 2008 at 11:14 pm

    Glad your day is better!

    My day is great just because I woke up breathing! The alternative is just not as great to me (except that I’d be in a better place).

    Also, I had a sweet baby boy laying beside me ready to have some milk. And, even though it was 3:30 am, I was just happy to be able to hold and love on him! Nothing, in my opinion, is better than the sound of a baby!

    Hope all your days are great!