Good Days

“It was a good day.”

This is what I say to my 23-month-old girl every night; it’s become a bedtime ritual. It changes slightly with the events of the day, but the general process is the same each night.

Usually, I begin the dialogue.

“Did you have a good day?” I ask after the lights are out and we are in the rocking chair.

“Good day,” she says, her head against my chest.

“Did you go to the park?”

“Go to the park,” she repeats.

“…and play with friends?”

“Play with friends…”

“…and play in the fountain?”

“…play in fountain…”

“…and took a nap?”

“…nap.”

“…and went for a walk?”

“…in the stroller,” she adds.

“And what else?”

“Hot dog,” she says.

“Yes, we got free hot dogs from Home Depot. Then we played in the yard.”

“Play in yard.”

“It was a good day.”

“Good day.”

Of course this omits anything unpleasant that happens during the day, and sometimes there are unpleasant things. The Crowned-African Crane pecked her in the head at the zoo once; she falls and scrapes her knees now and then; sometimes the computer-controlled fountain at the park shoots water from a new direction when she’s not ready and it freaks her out a little. And then there’s the occasional tears when she doesn’t get what she wants when she wants it, but we don’t focus on those things at bedtime.

It’s almost just the opposite of what I do when I go to bed. I think of the mistakes I made; I wonder if I’m damaging any children in my classroom and hope I’m doing a good job; I worry about the war in the Middle East; I worry that I might not have enough insurance or that I might have too much. I’ve really got to review that insurance file sometime.

There’s just something about the dark that brings out terror; conversely, morning light always seems to scatter those cobwebby fears.

Lately, I’ve been trying to apply the nursery bedtime routine over at the other side of the house. Did I have a good day? I went to a job that I love. The coffee was really good. The weather was perfect.

But that doesn’t cut it for me. I’m too old to determine if my day was good or bad based on events. The fact is the day is good, regardless. As the Psalmist wrote, “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” If work was especially frustrating today and the coffee was burnt, I could still have a good day. It’s my decision; my reaction to the day is what I choose it to be.

It was a good day.