I haven’t done an A Day in My Life post in almost a year. Oops.
Technically, I didn’t set out to record this as an “official” Day in My Life, so timestamps are few and far between, and the pictures are a bit sparse.
If you enjoy this sort of thing, I have some extra fodder:
- A Day in My Life: Wednesday, 10 April 2024
- A Day in My Life: Monday, 7 October 2024
- A Day in My Life: Wednesday, 9 April 2025
(I just went back and re-read each of these posts for kicks, and it makes me wish I did a better job of journaling my day-to-day life. I find it FASCINATING to read about daily minutiae from my own past for some reason.)
Now, where we we—a current day in my life! And not just any ol’ day.
Every once in a while, I feel like life hands me a golden day.
A golden day is when everything aligns. I have energy. Nothing catastrophic happens. Little wins keep piling up in my corner. There’s usually a gorgeous sunset tossed in for good measure.
Friday was a Golden Day. (I would classify the week both kids are away at camp as a Golden Week!)
1:00 am: I finally fell asleep. I’d been up late doing some intense solo parenting. It was necessary and satisfying, but it meant I was wired and didn’t manage to fall asleep until about 1 am. Thankfully, I slept soundly. (Not long enough, but at least it was efficient!)
7:00 am: I woke up a bit discombobulated and in a state of mild panic when I realized it was garbage day. Pickup is always a bit of a gamble. Will they arrive at 7 am sharp or closer to noon? It’s really anyone’s guess. We err on the side of caution, so I leapt out of bed… only to discover Indy carrying the final item to the curb.
WITHOUT BEING ASKED! [To be clear, both kids have plenty of moments that are not nearly so golden.]
- I made smoothies for breakfast. They were delicious, quick, and helped me use up our stash of frozen fruit.
- The kids and I watched the Olympics while we sipped our smoothies. Canada won a medal!
8:30 am: I savoured a great cup of coffee and concentrated on work for several hours after the kids left for school. With no distractions, I was wonderfully efficient.
10:30 am: I had time to pop by my parents’ place for another delicious coffee and a quick chat. They spontaneously invited me to come back for a late lunch. Free food I don’t have to prepare? Sign me up.
I headed out to run EIGHT errands. That’s… a lot of errands. And somehow, every stop felt charmed:
- There was no lineup at Mark’s Work Warehouse, so I got to process my return immediately.
- I found what I needed to buy at Walmart, and waltzed right to the cashier without having to wait.
11:30 am: There was no delay at the gas station either… and the person before me had left their receipt in the machine, which meant I’ll get an extra $1.53 off my next grocery order. ($1.53 saved is $1.53 earned!)
- At Winners, not only did I find the socks I needed, I immediately spotted the exact brand of underwear (Nike) someone in the family had specifically requested—in the right size.
- I found the perfect birthday card at the dollar store. ($1!)
- I stopped at a local farm market to get some delicious black grapes that were on sale for $1.44/lb.
- I handled a pesky return (it went smoothly and, again, no line), returned a giant stack of library books, and still made it back to my parents’ place ahead of schedule for lunch.
Mom had lunch ready when I walked in the door: fish, rice, fiddleheads, and homemade pickles. We each had a little piece of chocolate cake (the same recipe she’s been making for 50+ years) for dessert… and then they told me to go ahead and leave without helping with the dishes! (I took them up on their offer.)
I drove home and discovered the parcel I’d been anxiously waiting for with some items for our trip was on my doorstep! I unpacked that, powered through an hour of work, put away a giant load of laundry, prepped afternoon snacks, and arrived at our carpool meeting spot for the ski hill with time to spare.
- The boys chatted and ate snacks in the back seat (with rave reviews; it was just fruit and muffins, but there were zero complaints).
- There is a SPECIFIC place I like to park at the ski hill and of course everyone else likes the same spot (it’s especially convenient). I have managed to get close almost EVERY SINGLE TIME THIS YEAR. It defies logic. Anyhoo. I managed to nab this perfect spot yet again!
3:57 pm: When we arrived, Indy’s friend had a piece of his snowboard binding fall off and lost the screw. He managed to find the tiny screw in the snow (what are the odds)… and guess who had a multi-tool in her SUV? (Full credit to John. The only reason it’s there is because of him.) I fixed it in seconds.
4:11 pm: At the top ready for our first run. IT WAS AMAZING.
4:57 pm: We got to see a sun dog which was unexpected and pretty.
5:05 pm: At one point, the boys decided they were ready to take the chairlift by themselves. We followed right behind, and it was a sweet parenting milestone. We got to chat while the boys did their thing. Delightful all around.
- It was truly perfect weather-wise: sunny but crisp with ZERO wind (which makes such a difference).
- The snow was perfection. There was no ice. No slush. I was skiing fast, and it felt amazing and safe (again, no ice!) and just so much fun.
- There were zero lines for the chair lift.
- I wasn’t ready to leave, but the boys were eager to squeeze in some Minecraft time. Earlier on the lift, I’d told them about the idea of leaving a party while you’re still having fun. So we left the “party” early—six runs total—but everyone was still happy.
- On the drive home, my friend peeled me a clementine while I drove. It was one of the juiciest, most delicious pieces of citrus fruit I’ve ever had. The boys chatted in the backseat. The sun was setting. In my rearview mirror, I could see the ski hill lights twinkling behind us.
- Belle was away on a babysitting gig, so I arrived home, enlisted the boys to unload the car, then sent them off to play Minecraft while I tossed nuggets and fries in the oven. We almost never have nuggets (no shade—they’re just not a staple), and fries might appear once every couple of years at home. It was easy and fun and different.
6:54 pm: We lit candles and turned on the Olympics to watch…
- The Canadian men win a total nail-biter of a game with Finland! We were just watching a replay and it was amazing. And not at all stressful since we already knew the outcome (I hadn’t watched it live, so was spared any stress).
- John caught an early flight home and arrived hours ahead of schedule.
- It was Friday night—my absolute favourite night of the week.
- We watched a hilarious stand-up set, then an episode of Frasier (always funny), and I promptly fell asleep.
Nothing dramatic happened, but it felt like there was a total lack of… friction might be the best word? Everything moved smoothly. I also realized that I had energy the WHOLE day which is unusual for me. Maybe this is how some people feel all the time? But I never once felt tired or sluggish. The weather was perfect. The kids were in great moods. I spent very little time in the kitchen. I had solo opportunity to work. I had social time with the kids, my parents, and friends. I got fresh air and exercise. John got home early. Errands went seamlessly. The coffee was good 🙂
*Happy sigh*
Your turn.
- When was your last Golden Day?
- What are some of the main things that usually feature in your Golden Days?
Header illustration by Deep on Unsplash
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What a wonderful day and I like how you call it. From time to time we get these and could be fooled to believe that this is the norm. It took me a long time to realize it’s not, most of days we have ups and downs in one day. For such a golden to happen so many stars to be aligned and everyone needs to be in good mood, and most important of all, we need to start the day with good rest (sleep) and optimism to start a new day, right?! and obviously not to be shocked by anything tragic beyond our control.
I need to record one of these days to reflect what makes it golden more closely. how much is our own attitude/choice, how much is the rest.
Yes! It’s a bit surprising how unusual it feels! Interesting to ponder how much of it is by choice and how much of it is by chance. I think it’s a mix of both. Sunshine helps, too. I doubt I’d have a golden day nearly as often on rainy, miserable days!
These days where everything just flows are so special!
Your post is great timing, because I want to my own “Day in the Life” post next week and I chose to document yesterday. It’s funny how more attentive I was to details that I usually don’t even notice.
It would be nice if we always could pay more attention to the things going on around us: to the perfect parking spot AGAIN, having the right tool, a peeled clementine in the car… nothing huge, but all part of a bigger picture.
I loved reading this!
It really was so special. I didn’t want it to end!
I can’t wait to read your post. Yes! Writing about daily minutiae makes us hyper-aware of all the little things that happen in the span of a “normal” day.
Nothing was huge, but it all came together so wonderfully.
Golden days are rare but so wonderful! My last one was July 2017- took some kids to the Shore and it went so nicely- pleasant- not too hot- and left before anyone got cranky.
You needed a day like this!
A lovely day at the beach (? maybe? I assume so with a name like “The Shore”) sounds amazing!
This sounds like magic! I love that this was the day you recorded. And even a sundog to show the universe winking at you?!
I have been taking a medication that helps me not feel sleepy during the day and I cannot believe how wonderful that is. Like you, I wonder with awe if some people feel like this always!
I literally cannot imagine living life without almost always feeling tired. Ugh. I have had every test in the book and tried all sorts of things. Alas, I just seem to be a low-energy person. So I think NOT feeling tired automatically makes everything feel easier. Go figure, eh? 🙂
What you said about wishing that I documented more of everyday life in my blog. Note to self!
This is the perfect day because you got a ton of stuff done AND you had a ton of fun. Lunch at the rents, a ski afternoon, and fun at home afterwards. Never underestimate the power of an easy nugget & fries dinner!
I love being productive AND having fun. So that is definitely something key for my golden day.
I have to admit I mostly just don’t like cooking. I feel like I should, but I don’t. So pushing the Easy button (which I do quite often, just not quite as easy as fries and nuggets) was so nice!!!
Wow- this really was a perfect day. It’s interesting that you had so much energy- I know you slept well, but it really wasn’t a lot of hours. Somehow all the stars and planets aligned for you. I love the combination of work, parents, kids, skiing… but if you tried to recreate this day, you wouldn’t be able to do it. It would be somehow missing that mysterious, magical ingredient that make some days frictionless. I have had days like this, but offhand I can’t remember the last time it happened.
I think sometimes less sleep actually helps me… but then I pay for it later, so it’s a tradeoff.
You’re so right: you can’t force a golden day to happen. I can put all the “ingredients” in front of me, but it’s rare everything comes together perfectly. When it does it’s just… AMAZING.
Sounds amazing! So glad you got this golden day AND that you documented it!
I wasn’t planning to write about it, but it just kept getting better and better. It was seriously such a fun, magical day. If only I could snap my fingers and get one of those every few weeks it would be nice. I mean I have plenty of nice days, but the complete lack of friction, as I put it, was truly next level!
Such a perfect day to share and remember that every once in a while, everything *does* go swimmingly! It sounds like everyone (kids included) was generally in a state of equilibrium, which makes such a big difference. And the fact that all your errands went smoothly too means that whole series of tasks was less draining than usual. One theme I noticed throughout the day was that YOU were being cared for — by Indy taking out the trash, by lunch at your parents, even by your friend peeling the orange — and I’m sure that contributed to you not feeling completely depleted by the end of the day.
Confessing I had to look up “sun dog” — I never heard that term before and don’t recall ever seeing one! Maybe they’re more common farther north?
Oh my goodness, YES! If the kids aren’t happy and in great moods, it’s very hard for me to be in a good mood. I guess the opposite it true, too. That old adage if Mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy rings true!
KATE! HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THIS. I WAS BEING CARED FOR. MY LOVE LANGUAGE IS ACTS OF SERVICE. My mind is blown. I need to go sit down and ponder this for a while. It makes so much more sense, now, too how wonderful this day felt.
I don’t see sun dogs very often (I think they’re also called sun halos), but they’re magical when they happen!
Thanks for the definition- I was trying to find a dog in the photo some where!
Haha! I don’t know where “dog” comes from because it doesn’t resemble a dog. At all!
Hooray for a golden day! I am so happy for you! Today was not a golden day as Paul was in the worst mood this morning and kept saying he wanted to hug me goodbye but then would push me away. Sigh. (I fly to Baltimore this am). I hope that doesn’t hang over him while I am gone this week.
A golden day for me is usually one spent completely alone. That rarely happens. So I tend to have golden days on my shouldless days. My birthday was a golden day, though, since I was off and did a lot of my favorite things. There was a sense of sadness hanging over me as Phil went to a funeral for his coworker that afternoon. But aside from that, the day was perfect.
Oh no! What a tough way for your to start the day. I hope your flight went smoothly <3
Of all days to have a golden day, your birthday is a perfect time to have it happen.
What a lovely day and so nice that you recorded it! It’s a lovely counterpoint to the anti-golden days where it feels like everything goes wrong. How much snow did you get from this latest storm? No clue how much we got as we got 90 km/h wind gusts so it’s drifted feet deep in some places and barely there in others. Must have been a lot though based on the drifts.
We got a lot of snow… enough to have two days off of school. And yes, lots of wind so crazy drifts!
The best part about this is that you can read this in years to come and enjoy it all over again. So many of the tiny rewards in life are forgotten quickly.
What Bijoux said! I think it’s so great you were able to record this so you can look back at such a perfect day. How wonderful! It’s like everything coming together so perfectly!
Sounds amazing, Elisabeth. I love days like that!
I had to look up sun dog. Interesting. I love that you had a good day, noticed it, and documented it. When days are toguh you’ll have this to look back on. Now that the kids are grown I have a lot more frictionless days.
Hooray for a Golden Day! It’s so nice when things work out like that! I like the idea of quitting skiing (or whatever event) before you get too tired. I wish you many, many more Golden Days!
Oh my goodness, the odds were in your favor for sure. I’d say you should have purchased a lottery ticket (do you have a lottery in Canada?), but it seems you’d already won the day! I love that Indy was taking out the family’s garbage; to me, that is a Love Language Win! (I’m the sole garbage/recycling taker-outer in our home)
We do have lottery in Canada, but I’ve never played it 😉
Acts of service are my love language, so it makes so much sense to me now why the garbage meant so much to me!
A golden day is such a delight, and for it to happen on the day you were capturing for a day in your life is even more special. You’ll be able to look back on this post and remember!
I feel like I have golden days quite frequently – Sunday was one of those days where I got to see my friends for our book club meeting, take a great nap afterword, and get some chores done to set myself well for the week. The perfect mix!
It really is key to have a mix: something social, something relaxed and quiet, something delicious to eat, etc!