Perfectly Perfect

This was the type of day I wish could be bottled up and kept for a lesser one ahead. Bookended as it was by the long weekend, today could bask in just being today, small and quiet and soft. Nowhere to go, no one to see, nothing pressing, just us and the familiarity of our corner of the world.

I awoke to breakfast in bed and the Sunday Times crossword (I admit it, I'm spoiled). Between a little of this and a bit of that, I gave our apartment a thorough head-to-toe cleaning while Gus worked his way through laundry and recipes. I finally got around to cutting out various inspiration and articles worth keeping from a year's worth of magazines and recycled the rest. I stored away our few Thanksgiving decorations and carefully unwrapped and displayed our Christmas trimmings, in anticipation of the first Sunday in Advent. We listened to Christmas CDs and talked about where to locate our tree in the weeks to come.

After dinner, I ventured outside for the first time today and we cut through the deserted streets for a late evening stroll. We remembered all the darkened streets we've walked through over the years -- post-meal in Montreal, late night store runs in Portland, jet lagged at 2:00 AM in Paris. As they did then, my head fit just so against Gus' arm and my hand wrapped safely in his as we walked in slow lockstep against the brisk wind.

Let there be many days like today in the years that lie ahead and mine will be a life well lived.