The Day Nothing Happened

            At first, it seemed like it would be just an ordinary day. I got up a little ahead of Kim and made the coffee while drinking some reheated leftover coffee. It didn’t taste all that great, but knowing that it might be my last meal added to my appreciation.

            And then the most extraordinary thing happened. I opened my laptop, and there sprung to life pages of the day’s news, notes from friends, and ads from folks who somehow know just the kind of products I’m interested in. All this while I was sitting in my most comfortable chair. And I discovered yesterday that when these things don’t magically appear, I can just unplug some of the magic boxes, wait a few seconds, and then plug them in again and – amazing! – all those messages return to me!

            Soon, miraculously, Kim came into the kitchen. She was walking a bit stiffly – no surprise, given her multiple surgeries – and soon she was in my arms in a celebration we call our “morning hug.” As the hug lingered, I knew this would be an extraordinary day, a gift.

            Breakfast was perfect. The bananas on my cereal were still firm, the toast dark and crispy on the edges, the butter sweet, the coffee rich and nutty. Time stood still as we moved our second cup of coffee out to the porch where the birds and squirrels had assembled for our delighted entertainment.

            It was one astonishing thing after another. Kim and I did the dishes together, side by side, occasionally as if by accident rubbing against each other (more often me against her). Dishes that were dirty became clean – how awesome is that? And when I took out the garbage, guys in a truck came and took it away – does this happen elsewhere, or only in my world?

            On and on these miracles occurred. I pushed a button and my car started, so I drove to the post office, where I received a letter from over 1,000 miles away, a kind note from the bank telling us how much money we had there, an offer for a free hearing test, and a book that I received without even going to the store! When I got home Kim and I went out to our yard and saw that plants were growing, some of them with flowers, though months ago they appeared to be lifeless! What’s happening on our planet?!! It was a miracle.

            Then we walked down to the lake, where we saw another miracle: Years ago, a moving glacier had carved out a deep trench, which filled with water. And what’s more, that water on this sunny day was the most astonishing blue – several shades of blue, in fact – despite what physics nerds explained about the lack of blue pigment in the water. (Don’t get me started on physics . . ..)

            Later in the afternoon I came upstairs from my desk and saw that someone, somehow, had created a meal of linguini with clam sauce, with a nice little salad on the side. But we don’t have clams like that in our lake! And where did the tomatoes in the salad come from? And there were candles! I poured the wine, which had somehow gotten here all the way from Chile, and thought, What a magical day!

            And this was a day on which nothing happened . . ..