I've Been Thinking About Ordinary Days

The other day I realised it was almost 4 o'clock before I'd been to the loo!

If you've ever worked in healthcare, you'll probably be smiling at that. It almost feels like a badge of honour.

You become so used to carrying on that you barely notice what your own body has been trying to tell you.

The funny thing is, I don't work twelve-hour hospital shifts anymore. Yet somehow, there I was... still doing exactly the same thing.

That little moment stayed with me.

Funny the things our minds choose to hang on to.

Over the next couple of days, I found myself noticing other little moments too.

The cup of tea that had gone cold because I'd wandered off to do "just one more thing."

Walking upstairs with purpose, then standing at the top wondering why I'd gone there in the first place (Please tell me that's not just me).

Hanging the washing outside, feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin for a few seconds.

Tiny moments.

The sort of moments that usually pass without a second thought.

This time, I lingered with them.

You know, it's easy to spend life looking ahead.

Looking ahead to the weekend, to the holiday you've booked, to the point when work feels a little less busy.

I catch myself doing that sometimes.

Then something tiny makes me pause.

A lovely hot cup of tea.

A conversation that lasts a few minutes longer than I'd planned.

Realising I’ve sat at my desk too long without getting up and moving.

Remembering I actually need the loo before my bladder starts lodging an official complaint (I suspect my fellow nurses are smiling again).

Life isn't waiting patiently somewhere further down the road.

It's already here.

None of these moments changes the world.

They don't need to.

They simply change the feel of a day.

Yesterday I stood outside after hanging the washing on the line.

I wasn't out there for long.

Long enough to notice the breeze.

Long enough to hear the birds.

Long enough to stroke my cat as he rolled on the ground.

Long enough to realise that, not so long ago, I'd probably have hurried straight back inside.

That made me smile.

Tomorrow will probably look much the same.

There will be work to do. Meals to cook. People to care for. Washing that somehow seems to multiply overnight.

An ordinary day.

The kind we've all lived hundreds of times before.

I have a feeling I'll notice a little more of it.

And somehow... that feels enough.

Breathe & Believe 💫
Lorraine