I wanted to ask you a question this afternoon. Have you ever stopped in the middle of an ordinary day and really thought about something? Leading to never having have this day again. Not this exact Saturday. Not this exact morning. Not this exact conversation. Not this exact version of your family.
Tomorrow, this day will be a memory. And I think sometimes we forget just how important that is. We’re always waiting for something and incudes wafting for payday or waiting for school to start.
You might be waiting for summer to take a much needed vacation. Or waiting for the weekend so you can rest after a week of working. Or you might be waiting for the children to grow up which can happen in the blink of an eye. Just look at Charlie.
You might be waiting for the house to get cleaned which is one thing I’ve been waiting on. How about you. Or waiting until we have more money which might keep us from doing something we want to do.
Waiting until things get easier which never seems to happen in my life. How about yours’s? And while we’re waiting, life is happening. The children are growing. The family is changing. People we love are getting older. Our homes are changing. Our circumstances are changing. And today’s ordinary little moments are quietly becoming yesterday’s memories.
I have a question for you what happened today? Maybe it was nothing spectacular happened. Maybe you got up, made coffee, answered messages, did laundry, went to work, ran errands, cooked dinner, and sat down exhausted.
Maybe the children argued. In my home David and Charlie or Charlie and I argued. Maybe somebody made you laugh. Maybe somebody needed you. Maybe you didn’t accomplish half of what you planned. That’s okay.
Because even an ordinary day is still a day you will never get back. You don’t have to make every day extraordinary. Sometimes you just need to notice i. Take the picture. Even if the house is messy.
Even if nobody has their hair fixed. Even if you’re still wearing pajamas. Take the picture. Because someday you’ll look back at that messy kitchen and remember exactly what your house sounded like.
You’ll remember who was sitting at the table. You’ll remember the dog under your feet. You’ll remember the child who was still small enough to climb into your lap. You don’t take the picture because everything is perfect. You take it because this moment is real.
Tell Someone You Love Them Don’t wait for a special occasion. Tell them today. Call your mom. Text your child. Give your husband a hug. Sit with your grandmother. Ask your brother how he’s doing. Tell your friend you’re thinking about them.
We assume we’ll have another chance. Most of the time, we do. But none of us is promised another exact moment. So say it now. Eat the Cake Which may sound silly, but sometimes we make life far too complicated.
Use the good dishes. Light the candle. Order the dessert. Wear the outfit you’ve been saving. Open the pretty notebook. Use the perfume. Buy the flowers. Sit outside. Play the game. Watch the movie. Make the recipe. Eat the cake.
We spend so much time saving things for some future day that we forget today is a day, too. Make Memories on a Budget You don’t have to spend a fortune to make today matter. Take a walk.
Sit on the porch. Look at the moon. Play cards. Make popcorn. Turn on music in the kitchen. Tell old family stories. Go for a drive. Stop somewhere you’ve never visited. Look around your own town. You can make memories without making a huge purchase. Sometimes the best memories cost absolutely nothing.
Don’t Miss the Little Things One day, you may not remember what you bought on a particular Saturday. You may not remember what was on sale. You may not remember what was on your to-do list. But you might remember who sat beside you.
You might remember the smell of dinner cooking. You might remember the sound of somebody laughing. You might remember your child’s voice. You might remember the dog following you from room to room. You might remember a conversation you almost didn’t have. Those are the things that become precious.
And Sometimes Today Is Hard I don’t want to pretend every day is wonderful. Some days hurt. Some days are exhausting. Some days bring bad news. Some days leave us crying instead of laughing. And even on those days, the words still matter: You will never have this day again.
That doesn’t mean you have to pretend it’s a good day. It means that someday, it will be a day you remember. So be gentle with yourself. Do what you can. Rest when you need to. Cry if you need to. Pray. Call somebody. Take one step at a time. You don’t have to make a hard day beautiful. You simply have to get through it
Hold on to the people you love because they are not permanent fixtures in our lives. We know this. We just don’t like to think about it. Children grow up. Parents age. Friends move away. Family members pass away.
And suddenly we find ourselves wishing we had one more ordinary Tuesday. One more family dinner. One more conversation. One more chance to hear someone’s voice. That’s why the ordinary matters. Because we don’t always know which ordinary moment will become the one we treasure most.
So What Will You Do With Today? Maybe today you’ll stop rushing. Maybe you’ll sit down with your family. Maybe you’ll take the picture. Maybe you’ll call somebody. Maybe you’ll make the recipe your grandmother taught you. Maybe you’ll watch your children for a few extra minutes instead of worrying about the mess.
Maybe you’ll put your phone down. Maybe you’ll pray. Maybe you’ll simply breathe. Whatever you do, don’t spend the entire day waiting for tomorrow. Because tomorrow will come. And when it does, today will be gone.
You will never have this day again. So let’s make it count—not because it has to be perfect, but because it’s ours. This day. This family. This moment. This life. And sometimes that is more than enough.
Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates