Your Perfect Day

I used to work with a wonderful life coach, Penelope Brackett. Every so often PB would ask us to write and share our "perfect day." The one I remember most clearly involved a nice guy, an off-Broadway theatre, and good food. There's imagery from that exercise that pops immediately to mind whenever I'm asked to set goals and make life lists and generally check in on my life's missions.

Even while I was writing out that one perfect day, though, I was aware that there are a lot of different perfect days for any person. I mean, I would not look unkindly on a day spent in bed napping and reading and...maybe some other bed-related activities. Those are just two choices. I know there are an infinite number of others.

Today stood out as another version of my perfect day.

I got up this morning and went to the park. The dog got some time off leash. I talked with some friends. We swung by a friend's house on the way home and dropped her dog off so....good deed for the day! (Way too easy.) At home I had time for a leisurely shower and breakfast with social media while I got ready to head to work. When I took the dog for a quick spin before I left I had more patience for training. It's been so cold and the paths so crowded with snow that the combination of his lack of exercise and the lack of space has made for a drastic turn in our good manners. Today the ways were clearer and so were our heads and we made good progress, really communicating.

Then I went off to work! Work today was the first day of auditions for Listen To Your Mother's NYC show. We had a small crisis as I was on my way out of the subway but we solved it easily and got set up in plenty of time. The next five hours were like a custom-built performance piece just for the four of us. We had a couple of intermissions where we could talk amongst ourselves, get to know each other a bit, and we had long stretches of people generously sharing snapshots of their lives for us in brilliant and heartfelt ways.

The commute home was blessedly swift. I had time in each direction to read up on some dog training. The book I'm reading now in preparation for class next month is almost entirely things I thought I knew plenty about but I'm learning and re-learning with every paragraph. It's inspiring me to chomp at the bit to get started!

The pets greeted me at the door with excitement but gave me space to change my coat. I took the dog out for a nice walk where we ran into a friend and I decompressed a bit after hearing so many stories. Then in I went and fed the menagerie. I was so jazzed I was even moved to cook a little something for dinner and, while that was working, do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. (It really is amazing what loving your work will do.)

I've been relaxing on the couch with some TV, catching up on emails and social media, and having remarkable success with some more dog training (we still have plenty of work to do on cat chasing and barking at the door but it's going well tonight). I'll be ready for bed and then some when the time comes in half an hour but in the best way. It's a good thing, too, because I have to get up bright and early in the morning so I can do it all over again!