It Doesn’t Take Much to Make My Day

My day did not begin well. The alarm rang a few minutes after 6:00 a.m., forcing me to open my eyes and acknowledge a new day before the rest of my body was ready. 

Travel, babysitting, minor aches and pains, and laziness kept me from the gym for over a month. It was time to renew my relationship with my local fitness center.

Reluctantly rising from my comfy, cozy bed, I threw on gym clothes and in less than 20 minutes was out the door.

I arrived at class a few minutes early and greeted fellow fitness enthusiasts and early risers.

The appointed hour came. Minutes ticked away.

No instructor appeared.

We waited.

And waited.

There was no one around to complain to or question. Office staff strolls in after 8:00 a.m. 

The instructor never showed. 

What happened?

Apparently the regular instructor was out of town, and the substitute forgot about the class. She probably never set her alarm.

But, after rising early and making it to the gym, I was determined not to squander an opportunity. My body demanded attention. I stayed and worked out for an hour.

On the way home I stopped at a smallish grocery store to purchase a snack promised for an afternoon meeting. As I walked out clutching two bags of groceries an employee (I knew he worked at the store because of his logo shirt) handed me a bouquet of flowers. 

“Here, these are for you. Have a good day!”

Taken by surprise, I hesitantly accepted the flowers. “Thank you. You made my day!”

It doesn’t take much to make my day.

Armed with cookies for the meeting and flowers for me, I drove home and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast.

And speaking (or more accurately, writing) of breakfast…

The average time it takes most people to eat breakfast, according to recent research, is 12 minutes. 

Now that I no longer leave the house early every morning for an office, I can take more than 12 minutes for breakfast. A lot more. And I usually do.

Across the pond the Brits spend even less time on breakfast – three minutes and 15 seconds, and most people do not bother to sit down and eat, opting to stand. At least some Englishmen and women eat. Half the people surveyed do not consume any breakfast at all.

Sometimes, like this morning, my leisurely breakfast fritters away half the morning. I eat slowly, linger over coffee, review the news online, and read emails. The benefits of a retiree!

Suddenly…

I scrambled to do the few things I wanted to accomplish before heading out to my meeting.

But it was all OK. I received a bouquet of flowers this morning.

I had a good day.