The Extraordinary Ordinary Day

Sometimes an idea comes to me and even though I’m working on other projects the idea screams so loud it forces me to sit down and give it a chance.

When I sent this story to my husband who was out of town, he told me he liked it, but it worried him. Was my health okay? I reminded him of my writer’s brain. We’ve joked about it for years. The game of what if that fuels my novels also makes life interesting in the real world. It can help me recognize the extraordinary in an ordinary day. That’s what happened while I was eating lunch, thinking about all the calories on my plate, and watching the birds fly in between my banyan trees. The what if spun a tale.

THE EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY DAY

She sat at the table staring at her pasta. White noodles, white sauce, white garlic bread. The article had said to have a variety of colors on the plate to keep from eating too much. The bright orange and yellow designs decorating her plate weren’t what was going to keep her from eating too much. A smile reached her cheeks. She wouldn’t have to count calories anymore. Quickly she pulled the pen from the metal rings of her notebook and jotted down: 1. Eat whatever I want.

A giant forkful of shells smothered in alfredo sauce replaced the pen. It didn’t matter that she knew she’d never finish the entire plate. What mattered was that she’d enjoy every bite.

Jack dropped his ball in her lap. The twelve-year-old Golden Retriever that had spent many lonely days at homes still hadn’t given up on her. He didn’t hold grudges, and he didn’t know he was old. He only knew that playing fetch was the best game in the world. She tossed the ball into the kitchen. Jack scrambled after it. Lifting the pen, she wrote:  2.  Play with Jack.

Clouds cast shadows across the yard. She stood to turn on the lamp pausing at the window. Rain sprinkled down on the garden that had taken up most weekends. Kneeling in the dirt, planting seeds, watching them sprout, calmed her after long busy weeks. The gladiolus bulbs she’d planted last month were getting taller every day. Soon their bright colors would rival the colors of her dishes. She hoped she’d get to see them shine. Sitting back down, she took a bite of garlic bread and wrote: 3. Watch the flowers bloom.

Just as she thought, her plate was full when she was, of course, there was still a speck of room for dessert. After wrapping up her leftovers, she opened a bag on the shelf labeled, Justin’s. It was the perfect blend of chocolate and peanut butter in two bites. Her favorite!

A sliver of sunlight burst through the clouds. She unwrapped the treat and popped it in her mouth. To heck with two bites! Jack sat at her feet, ball in mouth, staring, waiting. She reached down. He dropped the ball in her palm. She cupped it and kissed his head, “I’ll miss you.” Then she raised her arm over her head and threw as hard as she could. Today was the first day of her final chapter. From now on all her days would be extraordinary.