Puddle day

It was one of those days

A bit overwhelming and a bit stressful. Lots of work on the horizon for the weekend and my first real look at calling up a grad school and saying "can I come visit?". Crazy. That part was the gloomy part...where the humidity was a bit too much (enough to drink) and the grey clouds seemed to swallow every ounce of vivid color in the world.

But a bit exhilerating too. A great choir rehersal, a breakthrough in biochem understanding, a good Intervarsity meeting, and a good chat with mother and sister both. That part was the puddles part. The parts of the day, and of life I would wager, which we happen upon a smooth pool of reflective particles. And at that point we have a choice. Do we wallow in the mundane and the distressing? Do we notice the undying grey that even the pool itself reflects? Or do we take half a second and enjoy the little bit of pleasure we feel with a satisfying splash??

It's not a coincidence that jumping in is the messier of the two options. Walking around the puddle keeps your pants cuffs drier and your hair more curled. And taking the time on "those days" to find the puddles and optimize them takes a bit more observation. And in the same way, giving energy to "extras" on grey days of life may seem a bit frustrating at first glance. But take a few seconds, or a few more words, or a bit more time, or an extra smile, and more often than not you leave feeling a bit more inspired and enthused than you came. And though you might be one minute late for class or have forgotten to eat breakfast, you'll be more ready to face the grey.

Someone asked me how my day was tonight and I had a tough time answering..."it was a puddle day" I said...and I think they might have taken that wrong. It wasn't a grey day as much as it was a day for makind decisions...and for being willing to put forth the skipping spring that could land me in a slurping, spitting, sparkling splash.