At The End of The Day

Yesterday was a great day! It didn’t start out that way, however. A bookkeeping oversight had sent us scrambling as we crunched numbers and crumpled paper. Every avenue we attempted was thwarted, until suddenly God answered in a way we didn’t expect, and our day was suddenly tranquil.

By this time it was noon, and here I was still in my robe and pjs from my earlier distraction. Howard left for work, and I sank down in front of our big screen tv. How cozy with the lights of the Christmas tree, the fireplace, and the nostalgic program that was on. After an hour of self-indulgence, enjoying candy from a box like the stereotype housewife eating bon bons with her feet up, (this was fun! I should do it more often!) I showered, shampooed and busied myself in the kitchen.

Thinking ahead to our absence next week when we will be on our Christmas trip, I had cleaned and emptied the refrigerator of all but the essentials the day before. But there were still a few apples in the crisper drawer, so I decided to make Howard an apple pie. (Nearly every night after supper he inquires diplomatically if there is anything from my oven.) So today I will surprise him. Then I found a zucchini, two tomatoes and half a red onion, and visions of Italian roasted vegetables formed in my mind. With garlic, olive oil and a few other gleanings from the vegetable bin, the dish would be the perfect accompaniment for the tilapia left in the freezer.

The phone rang, and it was my husband wanting to know if the mail had come. Checking it, I had good news to report--a check from the bookstore for books sold, another from a friend buying a book, and a special surprise I had been alerted to look for from our son, Jamie! Thinking it would be a Christmas card with a picture of his family, instead I saw a sturdy package the size of a big photo frame. I tore into it and was delighted to find a hardback, bound printed album of photos from our Thanksgiving get-together! What a lovely gesture! He had ordered it by mail, and it turned out great.

After supper, relaxing in the good events of the day, I answered the phone to our son, Greg, asking us to come over and see their Christmas lights they had put up. Even though it was hard to leave our hearth on an early-dark, chilly evening, this was Friday night and an outing sounded nice. They had put illuminaria along their walk and plant borders, icicle lights outlined their spacious porch, and a huge angel twinkled with tiny white lights on their lawn. Their tree looped with strands of popcorn and keepsake decorations stood over a pile of colorful packages in the living room. Howard and Greg were soon thumbing through song books and enjoying the guitar, while I passed out some of that candy brought from home. We left carrying a casserole of ham and beans, a good start on tomorrow’s blessings that were sure to come!