A few months ago I came across this quote:
normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. let me hold you while i may, for it may not always be so.
? mary jean irion
The words are so perfect that I couldn’t get them off my mind. I kept going back to the quote to re-read it over and over. As we were deciding on the final touches for our kitchen, I had a space to fill and immediately knew what I wanted to put there. I sent a message to and the final product arrived yesterday. It is just how I imagined it would look in our kitchen.
Too often, we find ourselves counting down to the next big thing. Looking forward in anticipation to some big event, a vacation, or the next milestone.
But, that’s not where the extraordinary lies. It’s here, all around us, every day. My hope is that we never find ourselves so wrapped up in some distant tomorrow that we forget what a gift we have right in front of us.
Normal days are where the memories are made, the foundations for relationships, the heart and soul.
In a world with a culture that screams to us, You’re missing out! Work harder, do more, be more! Let’s choose to not listen.
In a world that says simple isn’t grand enough, ordinary isn’t to be celebrated. Let’s prove that wrong.
Rather than being afraid of missing out on the next great thing, let’s turn our attention to the gift that is right in front of us.
These normal days that are so full of extraordinary moments, they have so much to offer. I never want to take a single one for granted, I never want to forget how each little detail of the day filled my heart with so much joy.
The way my childrens laughter fills the air.
The sound of their feet running across the floor.
The way they run to the door and jump into Allen’s arms the moment he arrives home from work.
Their weight on my chest as I rock them to sleep.
The wonder and amazement when they learn something new.
Simple dinners around the kitchen table.
Tiny hands folded in prayer.
Conversations with the people I love.
These are the familiar, the memories we will hold onto forever, the ones we’ll come back to time and time again. They aren’t grand by the worlds standards, there was no chalkboard countdown, but they are just as precious, just as much a gift.
Let’s vow to celebrate the normal, let’s promise ourselves that we won’t let these days pass us by in search of something bigger and better.
These are the best days, because they are our days.
Kristin F. says
So, so good, friend.
Gina says
You posted a loaded potato soup recipe one time on Every Day Cheer that was delicious! I have hunted and hunted for that recipe the past couple of weeks. Any chance you still have it? I found the potato soup recipe you have on this site, but I don’t think it’s the same one. It used frozen hash browns, cream of chicken soup (I think) and butter, but I don’t remember it having cream cheese. I made it several times last winter, and everyone loved it! It’s getting soup weather again and I’d love to be able to make it. Thanks!
Jennifer says
Hey! Yes! We have two that we go back and forth between, I’ll email them both to you!