Have Your Best Day

I had the most amazing day today! The interesting thing is that I actually only slept 3 1/2 hours last night. I was probably on some sort of sleep deprivation high.

At any rate, I woke up this morning thinking about a phrase that my family uses to close letters: "Have your best day." My brother started signing off this way when he was in college. Then my dad picked it up. Several of my aunts use it now, too.

In my mind, this phrase doesn't seem to be saying "good luck" or "I hope good things happen today for you." Rather it seems to say, "I hope you are able to meet this day with passion and awareness," or, "Be your best self."

So, I took the energy of that phrase into my day, and here is what happened.

My co-teacher, Lane, and I spent most of our three hours in the classroom dancing with the babies to a CD of upbeat world music. We put flour in the sensory table, and the kids made white footprints all over the carpet. We finger painted with pink and orange paint, and the kids marked their faces like tribal warriors.

Maybe it wasn't that different from other days, but somehow I felt more available to the crazy, wonderful fact that it is my job to nurture and play with and laugh with these beautiful kids.

Tonight, after dinner, I took a walk and sat on a rock in the glow of the setting sun. I couldn't stop smiling, which is a good sign that I have, indeed, had my best day.