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ordinary


yesterday was a good day. 

i woke up.  scratched my head, then my leg.  i stretched and stumbled to the kitchen and by pure dumb luck got the coffee started without spilling or dropping anything, or pouring the water into the toaster. 

once it brewed, i sipped my coffee.  i blew my nose. 

i woke up my son.  made his breakfast.  quizzed him on his school memorization.  drove him to the bus stop. 

i blogged.

i breathed.  alot.

i thought things and got dressed in things and did little things.

i went to work.  checked emails.  wrote emails.  deleted emails.  archived emails.  i wrote, folded, signed, prayed, discussed, planned, organized, and reached out.  i made some phone calls.  i talked about the steelers game.  i drank some water.  and ate a small candy cane.  i looked in a mirror.  i listened to music. 

i went home for lunch.  i ate some soup.  i slurped and swallowed.  i wiped my face.  i kept working.

i played mighty beans with my son.  i complained about the cold.  i changed a diaper.  i read an article.  i had an idea.  i forgot the idea while reprimanding my kids for giving their baby brother a mighty bean.  i shook my head. 

i laughed.  i remembered.  i yawned.  i ate dinner.  i filled myself.  i went to a meeting.  i prayed.  i talked.  i walked home.  i hit the power button.  i watched.  i laughed.  i got sleepy.  i nestled.  i scratched my side.  i went to bed. 

yesterday was a good day. 

yesterday was an ordinary day. 

yesterday was the tenth day.  of Christmas. 

and here's the situation:  did it matter?  i mean, Christmas.  did it matter?  eleven days we not only opened presents and marvelled at missing cookies, but we also celebrated the birth of Hope and Redemption.  we worshipped and sang and rejoiced and smiled and said some pretty remarkable statements about peace on earth and good will for every human being. 

and then what? 

back to ordinary days.  back to tooth-brushing and meal-planning and child-rearing.  back to scratching your head and blowing your nose.  back to mondays and mighty beans and mundanity.  (i know i made up a word).

so all of this ordinariness begs the question (at least for me): did Christmas matter?  did it make any difference?  did all that stuff i said and preached about Christmas being more than an excuse for gluttonous consumerism find it's way like a seed to soil in my own heart?  did the birth of hope find its own expression in my own life, or is it relegated to some manger-like corner of my heart, packed away until next year? 

yesterday was a good day.  and today's looking good, too.  but as i breathe and blog and get back into the routine, i must decide if Christmas made any difference for me. i must move through the mundane remembering the miracle. 

Comments

Eric said…
I love it. Thank you for reminding me not just to check off things on the to-do list!
Mrs. Milinovich said…
True, but sometimes I think the mundane IS a miracle. I like the perspective of Thornton Wilder in "Our Town" who said that only priests and philosphers really "get" how important every single day is. I also like the line from "Return to Me" in which the character played by Carol OConnor said, "I am blessed with work." I mean, after all, Mary still had to change the diapers and breast feed and bathe the baby. These are mundane tasks, but oh how sacred they really turned out to be.
greg milinovich said…
Yes! That's what I was saying! The magic is in the mundane, and it informs our moments if we let it. That's what I was trying to say.

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