Carpe Diem. Because it's special.

A few days ago I was skimming through the Sunday paper, looking through the Target circular to see their latest deals and steals {just in case I needed another excuse to go there several times this week}. The Preschooler was looking over my shoulder and happened to see an ad for a Disney movie that she thinks she needs.

The Preschooler: Mommy, can I get that movie?

Me: Maybe some time.

The Preschooler: I want to get it today.

Me: Well, maybe for a special occasion. But, today’s not a special day.

The Preschooler: Yes, it is.

Me: Oh, really. What day is it?

The Preschooler {very matter-of-factly}: It’s the second day of fall.

Now, actually, it was the third day of fall. But, still… what can you say to that? As a lover of all things fall, every day of autumn is pretty special when I think about it. So, she had me on that one.

I didn’t rush to Target to buy The Princess and the Frog just because I had been outwitted in conversation with a 4-year old. But, it did make me stop and think about how I wish I had a touch more of that kind of childish wonder for what most of us would consider to be a very ordinary day.

Both girls love to ask me each night and again each morning what we have on the agenda for the day. And, with the exception of the days they go to preschool, it’s usually not anything much more exciting than a few errands. Yet, somehow, I’ve found that if I words things in a certain way… for example, if I say, “And, we might go to the playground…” or, “After your naps we can all have ice cream…,” these simple promises give them something to look forward to, just enough reason to anticipate the next phase of their day. It doesn’t take much to excite them because they already wake up with this sort of innocent expectation that they’re going to have a fun day.

And, yet… I am SO not this way. In fact, as a non-morning person, I generally wake up a little stressed out that it’s already time to wake up. Did you know that this verse is in the Bible?

“If you wake your friend early in the morning by shouting ‘Rise and shine!’ it will sound to him more like a curse than a blessing.”

{Proverbs 27:14, The Message}

Amen and amen. I’ve always thought that being awakened by the cheery “Rise and Shine” song was an alarming, cursed way to start the day.

But, I’m afraid this is also in there… in a familiar passage that stresses women out everywhere:

“A good woman is hard to find… She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day… First thing in the morning, she dresses for work, rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started. She senses the worth of her work, is in no hurry to call it quits for the day…”

{excerpted from Proverbs 31, The Message}

And, if that’s not enough, things like this are in there, too:

“Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me, awake and ready for me each morning, alert and responsive as I start my day’s work.”

{Proverbs 8:34, The Message}

And, of course, there’s this one:

“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”

{Psalm 118:24}

I really think children have a natural tendency to understand something of the newness and the potential of each day in a way that I as an adult have to work much harder to grasp. They know how to seize it… how to make the most of the mundane.

And, I want so badly to regain something of their childish enthusiasm for the simple gift of a new day.

Easier said than done, of course. But, at least I’ve got a 4-year old to remind me that there’s always something special enough about today to make it worthy of a new Disney movie… or a new My Little Pony… or a new Barbie…

Today is a special day. It’s the sixth day of fall. And, that might just deserve a decaf pumpkin spice latte.

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