Thursday, November 12, 2015

the perfect day

sketch - the perfect day
How would you spend the perfect day?

This is a topic I've been meaning to blog about for years. It's something I think about often. Why don't I just take a day off every month and treat myself to the perfect day? How would I spend an entire day if I could do whatever I wanted? But, there's so much pressure to make day completely perfect that I've never come up with the answer. I know that's silly, but I'm a perfectionist. (And the most perfect days are probably unplanned anyway, but bear with me...)

As I was thinking about this topic today, I sat down and started drawing the perfect day in my sketchbook - rough little (imperfect!) symbols painted with a tiny brush dipped in india ink: wake up to sunshine, go for a hike among pine trees, wear stretchy pants, bake bread, eat tacos, nap on the couch, take a hot bath...

(I really didn't mean to paint my day in emojis, but when I went to post an Instagram picture of my sketchbook, I realized that my perfect day could pretty much be summarized in emojis. *thumbs up emoji*)

No big surprise, my perfect day revolves around FOOD. *pig emoji* According to my sketch, I think I'll be able to eat pancakes, strawberries, muffins, cheese, bread, pizza, ice cream, tacos, sandwiches, cake, donuts, and cookies (clearly I have a sweet tooth) all in one day and then wash it down with cocktails, wine, AND beer? My so-called perfect day may be my last day if I keep that up! *crying emoji*

When I think back to the most memorable days in my life, I realize that my most perfect days have been spent on vacation. Larry and I travel well together and get along best when we're traveling. We both enjoy an equal mix of exploring and relaxing. Nothing beats waking up in a cabin, spending the day together hiking and appreciating nature, feasting on delicious foods, and snuggling by a fire with a bottle of wine at night. (Snuggling my husband, not the wine.) But every day can't be a vacation day (unless maybe you're a National Geographic photographer...) So what about the everyday perfect days? The ones where you wake up in your own bed and spend the day in your own town? Why can't those be perfect and memorable, too?

So let's establish some ground rules and say you can't fly to Hawaii/Paris/St. Lucia/Santorini/New Zealand/insert your dream location here. You have to wake up in your own bed and spend the day within driving distance of your home. You didn't become a millionaire overnight either, so let's say you can't buy a Lamborghini on your perfect day. (You can't fly to Mars either, Larry.) *rocket ship emoji*

What would you do? (And what's stopping you from doing it?) *fist bump emoji*

3 comments:

veeveephoto said...

Breakfast of coffee and chocolate croissant
Long hike (or some outdoor activity) and outdoor picnic, most likely involving cheese and bread
Cooking at home (I'm going to insert eating a hamburger in here since we're talking about a perfect day and b/c it's like the only meat thing I crave. Maybe throw in some ice cream too.) Good book, fire, kitties, some relaxing tunes playing in the background

My perfect day is pretty boring. Even when traveling I essentially follow the formula above no matter where I am.

Funnelcloud Rachel said...

Completely agree with this, Veronika - this is pretty much my perfect day, too (just trade dogs for the kitties!) Forgot about chocolate croissants, but now I want one! Glad to see I'm not the only one who's perfect day revolves around eating!

And you're right - I pretty much follow the same formula, too. Any day with good food, walking around in nature, books, music, and snuggling the pets *is* pretty perfect!

veeveephoto said...

Another perfect day scenario for me that is equally boring involves hanging out with family at my mom's and being force fed home cooked food while we do absolutely jack squat except eat. Perhaps somewhere in the middle of eating we'll roam around the local HEB (awesome Texas grocery store that btw now sells online) and spend hours a)trying samples b)deciding which craft beers to purchase c)loading our cart with weird snacks to eat...bc obvi we need to eat more d)browsing the "local products" area that sells crafts and such e)buying way too much stuff we can't finish in one trip or won't fit in our luggage.

So essentially, yeah, it boils down to perfect day = eating. (+ Cuddly animals + outdoors/outing of some sort + and friends/family/spouse)