One of those days....

It was one of those days….       Yesterday was one of those days.   I didn’t know it when I woke up bleary eyed and looked out my window.   I layed there for a minute wondering if maybe I should just stay there seeing as my bed was warm and the room was cold.   Even the thought of dragging through the process of making my coffee felt a bit daunting and unnecessarily bothersome, and for those that know me and the relationship I have with my coffee knows the indicator of the day I saw before me.   But the morning sky was a beautiful soft orange and purple, highlighting the birds flying over the mountain view and I mustered the energy to roll out of bed, and make the loooong drudging trek of about 20 ft to the coffee machine.

Where I found that the coffee was already made.   “Well that’s something” I said to myself as I poured a cup and set my sights on the next daunting task…   rousing the army.   (I keep telling myself I'm just going to get myself a bugle, but thus far I have not)  As I made my way the next looooong stretch of my morning journey, a single flight of stairs, I am met with a “HI DADDY!  from the 4 year old, overly rambunctious head of household, who continued on to explain he had gotten everyone up already.  “Well that's something” I said to myself with a hint of a smile, as I turned my attention to the shower.   Halfway through said shower I remembered seeing my towel upstairs and hung my head a bit.   BUT when looking in

the cabinet I found someone had found time to do laundry and there laid before my eyes a nice freshly clean towel.  “Well that's something, this time with almost a half smile.  The morning routine continued in such a manner and I got out the door with a full Stanley of hot coffee and a kiss from my wife, only slightly later than my proclaimed departure time.  

As I zipped down the mountain road, listening to a book suggested to me by a fellow student that I am now infatuated with and flip back from audio form and my kindle throughout the day as I have even a few minutes, my thoughts turn to school, classmates, instructors, sermons and lesson plans to be constructed, tests to be taken, timelines to be built….      The image of a firehose aimed directly down my throat as I try to drink it ALL in flashes across my mind, and is replaced with the thought of that warm bed and the fact I could still change my mind and just crawl back in.   But the Sun is shining off the snow and I can smell my “San Antonio Blend” emanating from the open stanley in the cup holder, and I decide to carry on.

In the first class of the day, teaching strategies, we had an awesome lesson from one of the fellow students, followed by lively discussion.  This class happenes to be my only senior level class, and therefore the only time I get to interact with the upperclassmen during a period of instruction rather than down time. It's hard not to feel uplifted coming out of that class between those students, the instructor and the interactions and discussion that occur in that room, I assure you.  Then straight to chapel filled with singing, praise, and fellowship.   Followed by the second class of the day, which happens to be a history class and another of my favorites also, due to not only the material, but the instructor (and how he presents the material) and a room full of people that are quickly becoming family.  Lunch presented a random opportunity to grab some BBQ (the closest I have found to good TEXAS style BBQ since arriving in Colorado by the way.  Shout out to Piggin’ Out) with a friend and a conversation I have been looking to have for some time.   And then back for a second dose of history to finish out the day with a movie (VHS by the way) to cap off a school day for the books.

Now as you can tell my view on this day had already changed and by the time I left lunch, I'm not sure you could wipe the smile off of my face.  But we were only halfway through the day.  Plenty of time for things to change…   

On wednesdays in particular several of the students just kind of hang out between class and church.  This leaves time for study, meetings with instructors, reading, and of course Ping Pong.  This day however even the instructors got in on the action and a good time was had by all.  Laughter and cheering echoed through the building as royalty clashed on the battlefield of a tiny green table.  After wearing ourselves there was a suggestion made to go

for a walk and I found myself walking down a sidewalk, of which seemingly had no end, with two fellow students and good friends in one of THOSE conversations.   We were discussing the world's problems and how they were, or weren’t, going to be fixed.

One of those days…    one of those warm fuzzy great days.   We aren’t talking about some grand trip, or outing.    You can’t point at any one thing that just made the day, can you?   I can’t.  But y'all I could have missed it.  I could have chosen to stay in that warm bed because I just couldn’t see the day unfolding in any way but, bothersome.   I understand how easy it is to fall into the pattern of letting life hit you hard and drag on you, even now as I am in a higher point in life I could have easily just said not today.  

We can’t do that.  Let the people and experiences lift you up and surround you in love, and embrace it.  We have to roll out of bed in order to happen upon the warm fuzzy days.   Your warm fuzzy days may not look anything like mine,  that much interaction with people might be your nightmare.   Everyone’s warm fuzzy days may look different, and even that in itself is beautiful.